Set up a workplace pension

As an employer, you have a legal duty to enrol certain employees into a workplace pension scheme if they qualify. You also have a legal duty to write to your employees to inform them about their pension rights. This is true whether you have one employee or 500. When your employee contributes to their workplace pension, you also have to contribute if they meet the eligibility requirements. The government will also add money as tax relief.

You need to provide a workplace pension to every employee who is at least 22 years old and earns at least £192 a week or £833 a month (2020/21 tax year).

There are no charges to set up and run your employee pension scheme with Smart Pension, but you have a legal requirement to pay into your employees' pensions when they do. This must be a minimum of 3% of qualifying earnings.How much you contribute above this is up to you. For the 2020/21 tax year qualifying earnings are between £6,240 and £50,000 a year. Smart Pension reserves the right to charge for non-standard requirements – you can contact the company for details.

You'll need to carry out some ongoing tasks to keep your scheme compliant. These include making regular contributions and keeping employees informed about their pensions. You'll also need to manage opt-ins and opt-outs from the scheme.The Pensions Regulator requires you to keep up-to-date records about your pension scheme. Smart Pension will keep some things, but you're responsible for keeping your own records up-to-date. The Pensions Regulator's website  has details on what you need to record. Every three years you have to reassess anyone who has opted out or ceased membership of the scheme.. Any that are eligible for the scheme need to be automatically re-enrolled.