37% of small businesses are paying above the 1% legal minimum contribution to an employee’s workplace pension.
The People’s Pension survey of 898 business owners that have already passed their staging date found that the majority (70%) said auto-enrolment was beneficial to their staff.
50% said it was good for their business.
Further findings:
- 60% said auto-enrolment should apply to all firms
- 51% support lower paid workers and self-employed people currently outside the process
- 46% say firms have a key role to play in minimising opt outs for employees
- 43% said there should be no opt outs for workers.
Darren Philip, director of policy and market engagement at The People’s Pension, said:
“Those that have already staged are more positive, which might be because having been through the process they know it’s not as hard as they expect – and can see how beneficial it is for their employees.”
Managing contributions
Both your business and employees are required to pay money into a workplace pension scheme. The following contributions apply:
| Date | Employer minimum contributions | Employee minimum contributions |
| Until 5 April 2018 | 1% | 0.8% |
| Between April 2018 and April 2019 | 2% | 2.4% |
| From April 2019 | 3% | 4% |
Some schemes may have additional charges or one-off set up costs which could affect your contributions. According to The Pensions Regulator some schemes have monthly fees ranging from £0 – £36.
How you manage your payroll may also lead to additional costs on top of your contributions.
Our team can help you with auto-enrolment.