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No need for lengthy intros- we knew this was coming and most of the detail had been flagged- the DWP leaked and leaked well.

The consultation was excellently managed and the report makes good reading.

 It’s a shame that it caught some of Britain’s best journalists on a bad day.

 Bad day for BBC reporting

 To be eligible, staff will have to earn at least £7,475 a year.

 Good day for FT reporting

 However, individual employees earning less than £7,500 will be able to opt in to Nest, triggering an employer contribution, and they will be able to do the same during the three-month waiting period.

Indeed, those between the NI and PAYE lower-earning limits can opt-in to employer contributions without an obligation to pay for themselves (according to a report on Schemexpert).

Bad day for BBC reporting (2)

 Nest is due to start next year, with all firms joining by September 2016.

What the Paper says

There should be a simpler system by which employers can certify that their defined contribution pension scheme meets the required contribution levels.

Bad day for the Torygraph

The plans mean that firms with more than 50 employees will be required to provide a company scheme.

What the Paper says

 The automatic enrolment duties should apply to all employers regardless of size, as now.

 Enough of such pedantry ;- who says the truth should get in the way of a good story.

 Some observations;

 The Paper is good news;

•The three month waiting period will increase opt-outs but does reduce refunds and silly sized pots- it reduces the burden on employers and is overall a good thing

 •The certifcation regulations are complicated but in the right way, giving flexibility to employers to get the right benefit structure without undermining the general principles of Auto-Enrolment.

•There is no slippage im the implementation timeline

•There is a sensible easement on the earnings limit with the option to manually enrol for those between the lower NI and PAYE limits.

 •There are useful suggestions about integrating the regulation of trust and contract-based schemes- especially with regards refunds

 •There is scope for the collar on NEST contributions and the embargo on transfers-in to be lifted in 2017

• There will be Android and iphone apps acailable for those who want to keep track of their NEST pension -who knows- they may even use Facebook as I suggested earlier this year!

If only all Government policy could be implemented this well….l

Related Articles

• All firms ‘must offer pensions’ (bbc.co.uk)
• Pension reforms catch small employers (telegraph.co.uk)
• Every UK company to offer pensions under new rules (independent.co.uk)
• Millions of workers to be enrolled in company pension scheme under opt-out reform (telegraph.co.uk)
• Firms will have to offer pensions (mirror.co.uk)
• Millions of workers to be enrolled in company pension sheme under opt-out reform (telegraph.co.uk)
• Will Nest leave the Coalition with egg on its face over pension savings? (telegraph.co.uk)
• BBC staff should grab pensions deal | Phillip Inman (guardian.co.uk)
• Money Talk (bbc.co.uk)