Whether you’re setting up as a sole trader, or employing hundreds of people you need to think about plans for the future after retirement.  Your pension, and any pension arrangements for your employees, is best arranged under the expert guidance of either an independent financial adviser (IFA), or an Employee Benefits Consultant (EBC), which is an IFA that specialises in business advice. 

As an employer, if you have five or more employees, you’ll be obliged to provide access to an employee pension scheme – which for smaller businesses is usually run through a third party.  From 2012, the Government is introducing National Employment Savings Trust (NEST) pensions, but your business may be able to offer other equivalent or better schemes.  Whatever type of scheme you provide, you’ll need to get advice on how much you as an employer should also be contributing to the pension scheme.  This encourages employees to save for the future.

Your IFA can help you choose a pension provider you feel comfortable with, and one that has a scheme to suit the needs of your business and your staff.  There may be a certain amount of administration in setting any scheme up, but once it’s in place, most paperwork can then be handled directly between the provider and your employees.  Many schemes these days offer online scheme management, which you may prefer.

There are so many options involved when you’re setting up a pension scheme (choosing a provider, understanding how the scheme invests money for individuals, the types of fund available, deciding on defined benefits or defined contributions, and helping individuals understand when and how they can access their retirement funds), an IFA’s expertise can be invaluable to your business.  It could also make many thousands of pounds difference to your employees – and to you – in retirement benefits.

Questions you might like to ask your IFA…

As an employer, what are my obligations to provide a pension scheme for my staff?

How much should my company contribute to each employee’s pension?

Can you help me arrange different schemes for different types of employees?

What will happen if my employees leave the company?