AUTO-ENROLMENT ADVISER CHECKLIST

Transcription

1 AUTO-ENROLMENT ADVISER CHECKLIST For advisers only

2 Contents 02 First steps - Filtering your route 03 Our online journey 05 Step 1 - Helping your client to get started 07 Step 2 - Guiding your client through their decisions 09 Step 3 - Instant terms 11 Step 4 - Setting up the scheme 13 Step 5 - Group Pension Zone, assessing and joining the workforce 14 On-going - Support for your client

3 First steps Filtering your route Does your client have an existing Standard Life workplace pension scheme? Yes No Go to workbenefitszone. com/getready Go to adviserzone.com /goodtogo About workbenefitszone.com/getready Our online journey walks you through: --What you need to do to find out if an existing Standard Life pension scheme can be used as a qualifying workplace pension scheme (QWPS) --The simple steps to convert it into one Use the checklist at workbenefitszone.com/ getready to guide you through. About adviserzone.com/goodtogo Our online journey walks you through exactly what you need to do to set up a qualifying workplace pension scheme for companies that don t currently have a workplace pension scheme with Standard Life. Use this checklist as a guide as you walk through the journey. Adviser business guide 02

4 Our online journey Five easy steps to help you deliver premium quality good to go pension solutions Flexible steps to design your service package GPZ is Group Pension Zone, our online platform for managing the workplace pension scheme Stage 1 Helping your client to get started Checklist of decisions and information needed Pension reform information on adviserzone Prepare data Value of advice Step 2 Guiding your client through decisions Benefits of a default fund and other features Analysis tools Step 3 Instant terms Request a quote in 60 seconds Terms returned instantly and valid for 90 days Step 4 Setting things up QWPS Bank account and payment details Telephone support (if required) Step 5 Workforce activation on GPZ* Letter template for mandatory comms Assess and join members Process pension contributions Preparation Recommended up to 6 months ahead Setting things up Within minutes Activation Instant, depending on employer date Online servicing On-going support and member engagement 03 Adviser business guide

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6 Step 1 Helping your client to get started It s important that your client starts to prepare early for auto-enrolment, as the process may be more complex than they think. From experience, we recommend starting preparations six months ahead of the staging date. Remember, if your client doesn t comply by their staging date, The Pensions Regulator can fine them. Notes Action Where Standard Life can help you Describe auto-enrolment and the need for action Suggest that your client identifies a point of contact within the organisation who will be responsible for auto-enrolment Determine the staging date and communicate the need to start preparing early Explain the key responsibilities the employer now has to comply with under pension reform legislation Look at the educational content and FAQs at adviserzone/goodtogo. You can use it to explain auto-enrolment to your client. Determine what type of service your client needs Describe how you as an adviser can help Highlight where a market-leading provider is beneficial Set out your proposition Explain your remuneration model Determine if client wants a NEST solution Determine if client wants an advised service Use our business guide Auto-enrolment - your recipe for success to help you identify the areas where you could help your client - the case studies are especially useful Use our guide When a market-leading provider is required to help highlight the benefits of using a market-leading provider. Recommend early engagement Recommend that your client engages with payroll and any other data providers as early as possible. This will help avoid problems further down the line Our data exchange guide can help you explain the different data requirements there are for assessment, joining and processing payments. 05 Adviser business guide

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8 Step 2 Guiding your client through their decisions Your client will need to make some key decisions about the scheme design. You can guide them through and help them decide what is right for their business and their employees. Once you ve helped your client make these decisions, help them understand the impact on existing business processes and what data and systems need to be in place. Allow four months for this, as your client and their data providers may need to change processes and systems. Notes Action Where Standard Life can help you Help your client understand key actions required and the likely cost of a pension Build up a plan of the actions your client will need to take and when they will need to be completed by Work out how many employees are likely to join the scheme at staging Decide which definition of pensionable earnings to use Determine the contribution structure Decide if salary exchange will be used and if it is, highlight to the client that they may need to change employment contracts Consider industry opt out rates and the impact this may have on your client s contribution costs Use our pathfinder tool to build up a plan of the actions your client will need to take and when they will need to be completed by To understand what contribution levels will work best for your client s business, you can use our cost calculator to: --Work out how many existing employees are eligible and will be joined to the scheme --Model different contribution levels based on different definitions of pensionable earnings --Calculate the savings that using salary exchange could make Help your client make key decisions regarding scheme design Joining Decide which joining approach will suit the business Find out if the payroll provider can help with the assessment Decide whether to use the Standard Life assessment tool or another assessment tool Identify employees who have a protected lifetime allowance If using contract of employment: Update employee contracts to cover employees agreement to join the scheme Apply a waiting period: The waiting period will always be tuned to your client s pay reference period. However, they can choose to extend the duration up to a maximum of three months. Identify the first day/date of your client s pay reference period Decide the length of the waiting period from the staging date Decide the length of the on-going waiting periods Look at the educational content and FAQs at adviserzone/goodtogo that can help with these decisions. 07 Adviser business guide

9 Notes Action Where Standard Life can help you Regulatory communications Help your client work out what communications they need to send out and when The default investment option The default investment option is the Strategic Lifestyle Active Plus III Profile which has been designed specifically for workplace schemes. Explain how active investment works Explain the governance on the investment Explain why it is suitable for their workforce Our communication timelines will help plan the communication activity needed. Assess employees If using auto-enrolment to join employees, your client must: Identify what data is needed for the eligibility assessment and where it is held Put a process in place to gather the data each pay period Identify who needs to be assessed Understand how the eligibility assessment will classify employees and what the employer responsibilities are for each group Join employees Your client will join employees using our online platform Group Pension Zone (GPZ)*: They must: Understand what joining data is required and in what format If using contract of employment, make any necessary changes to employment contracts. This can involve a three month consultation period, so make sure they plan this in advance Manage opt outs Your client will use GPZ to manage opt outs. They must: Understand how to get the opt out report from Standard Life Check that the opt out file will be compatible with their payroll system Check that payroll will be able to process any refunds within the statutory deadline Process pension contributions Your client will process contributions on GPZ: They must: Make sure that employee contributions will be taken from the first payroll after their enrolment date Check that payroll can produce a payment file in the correct format Make sure there is a process in place to submit contributions within the statutory deadline If your client is using the Standard Life assessment tool, they can access it once the QWPS is set up. Our data exchange guide will help identify the data required in advance of this. The data exchange guide also shows: --The joining data and format required --The outputs and subsequent actions your client needs to take for each employee group --An example of the opt out report your client will be able to access on GPZ --The data and format required to drive the process payments on GPZ *Your client will get access to GPZ once the QWPS has been set up. Adviser business guide 08

10 Step 3 Instant terms You can request instant scheme terms once you ve helped your client make key decisions regarding their scheme design, and they understand how this will impact on their existing business processes. Notes Action Where Standard Life can help you Get scheme terms Find out the terms available for your client based on their chosen scheme design. Go to adviserzone.com/goodtogo and complete the online Request new scheme terms screen. You can request instant terms by completing just one page of information on our online Request new scheme terms screen. You will need the following information from your client: Employer name Staging date Joining basis Contribution basis Employee numbers and monthly pay for a typical pay period completed in the last 6 months. For those who are weekly paid, base this on 4 x weekly pay. Irregular pay activity, trades holidays periods, annual bonus pay or abnormal overtime patterns should be avoided. Employer and employee contribution levels Existing defined contribution pension scheme information (if any) Confirm the terms with your client Download the customised recommendation report and give it to your client along with the fund guide Highlight the scheme terms, reasons why Standard Life is suitable and the notes on scheme pricing Get your client s confirmation they want to proceed Once you request scheme terms, you will get a customised report that you can download and hand to your client. It details the scheme terms, reasons why the Standard Life scheme is suitable, pricing information and next steps. 09 Adviser business guide

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12 Step 4 Setting up the scheme When the submission of this data is completed, we ll usually create a scheme within a few minutes, and send a welcome confirming that it s been done. We ll also send your client their grouppensionzone username and password under separate cover. The first time the employer logs-in to grouppensionzone they ll be asked to confirm their details are correct and will sign our GFRP terms and conditions electronically. Then, they re good to go. Notes Action Where Standard Life can help you Set up scheme Go to adviserzone.com/goodtogo and complete the scheme set up application. Please be aware that if you decide to change anything after inputting the details on the scheme set up, you will have to go back to the beginning of the process. You can set up the scheme using our easy, online scheme set up application. If you need extra help, you can call a member of our dedicated support team. You will need the following information from your client to proceed: Employer details Employer s name Employer s address Confirm staging date Contact name Contact address Contact phone number Employer identity verification Scheme details Payroll frequency First day of pay reference period Pay day or date Waiting period details Joining method (contract of employment, auto-enrolment or both) Payment frequency 11 Adviser business guide

13 Notes Action Where Standard Life can help you Employer bank details (for direct debit) Account name Account number Sort code Branch address When you complete the submission of this data on-line we ll automatically set up a scheme for your client. You and the client will get a welcome , typically within a few minutes, confirming this has been completed. We ll also send the employer their grouppensionzone username and password under separate cover. The first time the employer logs-in to grouppensionzone they ll be asked to confirm their details are correct and will sign our GFRP terms and conditions electronically. Then, they re good to go. Adviser business guide 12

14 Step 5 Group Pension Zone, assessing and joining the workforce The final step once the scheme is set-up is for you or your client to manage the scheme. However, if you don t want to manage the scheme on a day-to-day basis, you don t have to. We make it easy for your client to do it themselves. Notes Action Where Standard Life can help you Your client s staging date actions You can build a plan that details what your client needs to do and when, including the need to: Complete contribution certification if applicable (if required, this typically needs completed on or before staging date) Send regulatory communications to their employees Carry out an eligibility assessment Enrol eligible employees Deduct employee payments Update payroll Get the opt out report By this point your client should know how to: Retrieve the eligibility assessment results Upload the joiners file Update payroll Download the opt out report Refund any contributions taken from employees who have opted out Use our pathfinder tool to build a plan with all the details your client needs. Our helpful GPZ user guides are broken down into bite size chunks to make it easy for your client to understand each step they need to take. Your client can access an opt out report that tells them who opted out and details any refunds due. Regulatory communications You can use our communication timelines to: Help your client decide on a communication strategy Understand what information needs to be sent and when Prepare the relevant letters/ s for each group of employees Prepare specialist letters/ s for any employees who have a protected lifetime allowance Our communication timelines will take you and your client through a series of questions before pointing you towards letter templates. These will help your client comply with their communication responsibilities. Employee engagement Help your client engage their workforce with their new pension. Provide employees with a link to their company pension website Provide employees with information about the contribution structure and default investment fund Order campaign support materials The company pension website has been extensively user tested. Employers can access interactive tools to support decision-making and our online service for managing their pension. Our suite of ready-to-go engagement campaigns can help employers raise awareness and prepare their employees for auto-enrolment. They are all available at no additional cost. 13 Adviser business guide

15 On-going Support for your client You may want to support your client with an on-going service. Here are the key things they need to do. Notes Action Where Standard Life can help you Building engagement Plan on-going engagement campaigns Order campaign materials As well as helping employers prepare their employees for auto-enrolment, our suite of ready-to-go engagement campaigns can also be used to get members to engage with their pension. For example, reviewing payment levels or considering consolidation. They are all available at no additional cost. Record keeping and reporting Complete scheme certification if required Declare the scheme with The Pensions Regulator within four months of the staging date Identify which records the employer needs to keep Put a process in place to store records for six years Our handy record keeping guide, available on adviserzone is a quick reference guide detailing records your client may need to keep. Regular duties Put a process in place to assess employees each pay reference period, if using auto-enrolment Monitor changes in membership status Monitor who has opted out and when, to determine if they ll need to be re-assessed Monitor changes in employment status and send the required communications Update payroll with opt out information each pay reference period Your client can access our opt out report through GPZ. It details all the information about who has opted out each month. Our communication timelines will help determine what communications need sent out when. Other duties Select a date for the triennial review Establish re-enrolment process If your client is phasing contributions, diarise the date that your client will communicate changes to members Adviser business guide 14

16 To get a taste for yourself visit adviserzone.com/goodtogo Standard Life Assurance Limited is registered in Scotland (SC286833) at Standard Life House, 30 Lothian Road, Edinburgh EH1 2DH. Standard Life Assurance Limited is authorised by the Prudential Regulation Authority and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority and the Prudential Regulation Authority. GEN Standard Life, images reproduced under licence