Automatic pension registration for new PAYE companies
If you’re employing staff for the first ever time after the 1st October 2017, you’ll need to register for pensions autoenrolment when you become a new employer.
This is now a statutory duty on you and you’ll run the risk of paying hefty fines to the Pensions Regulator if you don’t follow the rules. Here’s how to use the Pensions Regulator’s online system to register your company.
Screen 1 - Are you actually a qualifying employer?
First of all, go to the Pensions Regulator’s automatic enrolment page – click here.
If you:
• are a director of a business and don’t plan to employ anyone
• are a freelancer
• are self-employed
• are a director in a business with a number of directors, none of whom (including yourself) have an employment contract, or
• run a business which is no longer trading
…you don’t have to register. You’re then asked to tell the Pensions Regulator that you’re not an employer by filling in this form. You’ll need your letter code, PAYE reference and Companies House number (if you have one) when completing the form.
(If you’re no long employing people to work in your home, like a cleaner, a nanny or a personal care assistant, use this form to tell the Pensions Regulator).
If you’re employing at least one person now, you’re thinking about taking someone on, or you have staff but none of them currently earn enough to pay tax or National Insurance, you may need to register. Click the “Yes” button on the page.
Screen 2 - The age of your employee
On the next screen, you’ll be asked if any of the people you employ or intend to employ are between the age of 22 and the state pension age.
Click on the option which best describes your situation. If the answer is “no”, you don’t have to provide a pension scheme to your staff at this point.
If your answer is “yes” or “unsure”, click on the relevant button on the screen.
Screen 3 - Do my staff earn enough?
For the staff you employ between the age of 22 and up to the state pension age, you’ll need to let the Pension Regulator know if any of them earn more than £10,000 per year (or £833 a month or £192 a week).
If the answer is “no”, you don’t need to provide a pension right now. However, when you do start to employ someone between the age of 22 and up to the state pension age and who earns more than £10,000 a year, £833 a month, or £192 a month, you will need to inform the Pensions Regulator straight away.
If your answer is “yes” or “unsure”, click on the relevant button on the screen.
If you’ve got this far, you’ll need to register
Your enrolment duties start when you employ your first member of staff between the age of 22 and up to the state pension age earning more than £10,000 a year, £833 a month, or £192 a month.
The next steps are to:
• choose a pension scheme that is applicable for automatic enrolment
• work out who to put into a pension when your duties start,
• write to your staff to tell them how automatic enrolment applies to them, and, then,
• declare your compliance to the Pensions Regulator
Get Panthera involved
Xero is an amazing online bookkeeping and accounting system in the cloud but we recommend that, when it comes to anything to do with pay and payroll, bring the Panthera team in.
Please call us on 01235 768 561 or email us at enquiries@pantheraaccounting.co.uk.