10/08/2001

Companies urged to meet stakeholder deadline

Companies in Northern Ireland with five or more employees have been advised to act now to meet their responsibilities to provide access to stakeholder pensions for their employees.

The Department for Social Development (DSD) has written to employers reminding them that they have until 8 October to make such provision.

A spokesman for the DSD said: "Providing access to a stakeholder pension is not onerous. Employers do not have to set up and run a scheme themselves – that’s the job of pension providers. All that employers have to do is consult their employees about choosing a scheme, designate a registered stakeholder pension scheme and offer payroll deductions for employees who want to contribute.

"But, in order to make the October deadline, companies need to be talking to pension providers now.

"We are determined that people who want to save for their future have every opportunity to do so. People want security in their retirement. As well as saving through an occupational pension or personal pension people can now save for their future through a stakeholder pension."

Copies of ‘Stakeholder Pensions – A Guide For Employers,’ sent to employers last September, are available from the Inland Revenue Employers’ Orderline on tel. 0845 7 646 646 and on-line at the www.inlandrevenue.gov.uk website.

Employers seeking further information should contact the Inland Revenue Employers Helpline on tel. 0845 7 143 143, if they have questions about the content of leaflet. (SP)

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