5.7 Employer's Obligations
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Employers with 5 or more staff must make available a stakeholder
scheme for eligible employees:
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earning in excess of the lower earnings limit,
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aged at least 18 years but not within 5 years of retirement age.
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In some circumstances employers are exempt from this requirement.
- If the occupational pension scheme has a qualifying period in
excess of one year, the employer must offer access to a stakeholder
arrangement.
- If there is no existing pension arrangement, access to a stakeholder
plan must be made available, with the employer collecting the contributions
and paying them to the scheme.
- Group personal pensions where the employer is contributing at
least 3% of the employee's basic pay is an acceptable alternative
pension arrangement, providing the waiting period does not exceed
3 months.
- Employers required to set up a stakeholder arrangement had to do so by October 2001.
- Employers must deduct employee contributions from salary and remit
to the provider
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