Personnel Today
  • Home
    • All PT content
  • Email sign-up
  • Topics
    • HR Practice
    • Employee relations
    • Learning & training
    • Pay & benefits
    • Wellbeing
    • Recruitment & retention
    • HR strategy
    • HR Tech
    • The HR profession
    • Global
    • All HR topics
  • Legal
    • Case law
    • Commentary
    • Flexible working
    • Legal timetable
    • Maternity & paternity
    • Shared parental leave
    • Redundancy
    • TUPE
    • Disciplinary and grievances
    • Employer’s guides
  • AWARDS
    • Personnel Today Awards
    • The RAD Awards
  • Jobs
    • Find a job
    • Jobs by email
    • Careers advice
    • Post a job
  • Brightmine
    • Learn more
    • Products
    • Free trial
    • Request a quote
  • Webinars
  • Advertise
  • OHW+

Personnel Today

Register
Log in
Personnel Today
  • Home
    • All PT content
  • Email sign-up
  • Topics
    • HR Practice
    • Employee relations
    • Learning & training
    • Pay & benefits
    • Wellbeing
    • Recruitment & retention
    • HR strategy
    • HR Tech
    • The HR profession
    • Global
    • All HR topics
  • Legal
    • Case law
    • Commentary
    • Flexible working
    • Legal timetable
    • Maternity & paternity
    • Shared parental leave
    • Redundancy
    • TUPE
    • Disciplinary and grievances
    • Employer’s guides
  • AWARDS
    • Personnel Today Awards
    • The RAD Awards
  • Jobs
    • Find a job
    • Jobs by email
    • Careers advice
    • Post a job
  • Brightmine
    • Learn more
    • Products
    • Free trial
    • Request a quote
  • Webinars
  • Advertise
  • OHW+

Auto-enrolmentPersonnel TodayPensions

Employers face rising costs due to auto-enrolment

by Sheila Attwood 2 May 2014
by Sheila Attwood 2 May 2014

More than eight employers in 10 are facing an increase in costs as a result of pensions auto-enrolment, research from XpertHR has found.

Undoubtedly the highest cost area will be employer contributions. Currently set at a minimum 1% of employees’ earnings, this will increase to 3% from October 2018. The research found that the majority of employers feel that this is set at about the right level. Among the remainder, most said it was too low and expressed concern that contributions at this level will be insufficient to provide a reasonable pension on retirement.

However, the cost increase is not only due to employer contributions – employers have found a significant increase in their workloads as a result of auto-enrolment, most commonly due preparing employee data and administering the pension scheme. Although this work eases off once auto-enrolment has been implemented, survey respondents reported that a significant amount of time was spent understanding what their obligations were under auto-enrolment, and then putting in place the administration to deliver it.

XpertHR resources

How organisations are coping with pensions auto-enrolment

Many of the survey respondents have had to seek external assistance in order to meet the requirements of auto-enrolment. This often started with their current pension provider or a pension consultant, as employers must ensure that their pension meets the qualifying criteria.

Sign up to our weekly round-up of HR news and guidance

Receive the Personnel Today Direct e-newsletter every Wednesday

OptOut
This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Employers also need to make sure that the payroll software they have in place is able to handle the additional demands as a result of auto-enrolment. Few make do with their existing software and are instead having to adapt their current software or purchase a new system altogether.

“Employers yet to reach their staging date should ensure that they have adequate resources in place, and in good time, to meet the challenges associated with delivering auto-enrolment,” says Sheila Attwood, XpertHR’s pay and benefits editor.

Sheila Attwood

Sheila Attwood is Senior Content Manager, Data and HR Insights at Brightmine. She has more than 20 years' experience of working in a research and editorial capacity in a publishing environment, with a focus on the labour market, reward, industrial relations and HR practice. Sheila leads the team that is responsible for the HR and reward content on Brightmine, with a key responsibility for the pay settlement tracking service. She is an expert on company pay awards and is regularly called upon to appear in the broadcast and print media to comment on the level of increase in pay rates.

previous post
Health promotion that leads to change: what is the best approach?
next post
Opening up to MOOCs: opportunities for L&D

You may also like

TPT to launch multi-employer CDC pension scheme

12 May 2025

Millions at risk of retiring under-pensioned

30 Apr 2025

Two-thirds of healthcare workers threaten to quit without...

31 Mar 2025

Employee Benefits Awards 2025 shortlist revealed

24 Mar 2025

Boost pensions via salary sacrifice to offset NI...

17 Mar 2025

Government to ease DB pension surplus release restrictions

28 Jan 2025

Forward features list 2025 – submitting content to...

23 Nov 2024

Job hoppers have £16k more in pension savings...

21 Nov 2024

Qualified support for Reeves after Mansion House speech

15 Nov 2024

Rachel Reeves announces pension megafunds

14 Nov 2024

  • 2025 Employee Communications Report PROMOTED | HR and leadership...Read more
  • The Majority of Employees Have Their Eyes on Their Next Move PROMOTED | A staggering 65%...Read more
  • Prioritising performance management: Strategies for success (webinar) WEBINAR | In today’s fast-paced...Read more
  • Self-Leadership: The Key to Successful Organisations PROMOTED | Eletive is helping businesses...Read more
  • Retaining Female Talent: Four Ways to Reduce Workplace Drop Out PROMOTED | International Women’s Day...Read more

Personnel Today Jobs
 

Search Jobs

PERSONNEL TODAY

About us
Contact us
Browse all HR topics
Email newsletters
Content feeds
Cookies policy
Privacy policy
Terms and conditions

JOBS

Personnel Today Jobs
Post a job
Why advertise with us?

EVENTS & PRODUCTS

The Personnel Today Awards
The RAD Awards
Employee Benefits
Forum for Expatriate Management
OHW+
Whatmedia

ADVERTISING & PR

Advertising opportunities
Features list 2025

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Instagram
  • Linkedin


© 2011 - 2025 DVV Media International Ltd

Personnel Today
  • Home
    • All PT content
  • Email sign-up
  • Topics
    • HR Practice
    • Employee relations
    • Learning & training
    • Pay & benefits
    • Wellbeing
    • Recruitment & retention
    • HR strategy
    • HR Tech
    • The HR profession
    • Global
    • All HR topics
  • Legal
    • Case law
    • Commentary
    • Flexible working
    • Legal timetable
    • Maternity & paternity
    • Shared parental leave
    • Redundancy
    • TUPE
    • Disciplinary and grievances
    • Employer’s guides
  • AWARDS
    • Personnel Today Awards
    • The RAD Awards
  • Jobs
    • Find a job
    • Jobs by email
    • Careers advice
    • Post a job
  • Brightmine
    • Learn more
    • Products
    • Free trial
    • Request a quote
  • Webinars
  • Advertise
  • OHW+