Stakeholder Pensions

Introduction to Stakeholder Pensions

Stakeholder pensions became available on 6 April 2001. By 8 October 2001, if you employ five or more employees, you will be required by law to offer a stakeholder pension, or recognised alternative pension scheme, to your staff.

The Government introduced stakeholder pensions as a simple, flexible and affordable way for people in employment to save for their retirement. However, the onus falls on employers to manage the schemes, with heavy penalties for those who fail to comply with the new legislation.

Whilst there is no denying the benefits of helping our employees with their pension planning, there is no doubt that the new stakeholder legislation adds a further regulatory burden to the already overloaded shoulders of SMEs.

is4profit aims to lighten your load with this comprehensive, independent guide to stakeholder pensions. We have researched extensively into all the major sources of information available on the Internet from government bodies, financial advisers, pension providers and the financial media and brought all the information together in a single business article.

Our guide will tell you all you need to know about stakeholder pensions. It will help you understand the principles and practical implications, make you aware of your obligations, help you decide whether you may be exempt from running a stakeholder pension scheme, and take you step by step through the process of setting up a scheme for your staff. Should you require further information we have also included contact details and Internet links for the key organisations, previews of pdf documents you may wish to download from their web sites, and information from the majority of registered Stakeholder Pension providers.

We hope that this guide will bring you savings in time and costs as you come to grips with stakeholder and leave you free to get on with the job of running your business.