Running a business: Pension awareness

Emerging technologies and evolving trends are transforming the business landscape, and employees are increasingly facing major life changes. How those changes affect their productivity and commitment to work is important to understand for both the employee and the business owner.

One of the most commonly dismissed factors when facing a significant change in lifestyle is that of pensions. Knowing how retirement savings are affected by a change in the workplace is vital, and Portafina has recently released a series of pension tips that are proving incredibly useful for businesses and those that work for them.

Here are the key areas of that you need to be aware of.

Country relocation

More and more jobs are now being performed remotely from a central office, and that has lead to a rise in people being able to work in one country while living in another. If you’re doing so, or are planning to retire to another country, then you need to know that your pension will be affected.

There are some challenges that you will need to tackle, with access to your pension and the fact that you may no longer be entitled to tax relief both being major concerns. If your work role means that you spend a lot of time abroad, or you’re looking at retiring somewhere a little warmer, then make sure that you understand how your pension will be affected.

Redundancy concerns

If you are forced to fire someone but you have been paying your employer contributions into a workplace pension, then it’s important that you know what happens next. Workplace pensions are very useful, but most people seem unaware that if you are made redundant, then you do still have options available that mean you don’t lose out on the payments that you have already made.

When firing someone, it’s a good idea to let them know that they are legally entitled to continue paying into the workplace pension, even if they no longer work there. You should also advise them that they will be able to transfer their payments to any new workplace or personal plan that they set up.

Business bankruptcy

Not all businesses are a success, and if you are forced to declare bankruptcy, it’s vital that you are aware that your pension savings are not considered by the authorities as an official asset. This protects your pension from being seized, although there are plenty of rules and regulations that you will have to follow.

There can be a lot of variation in a pension, which is why Portafina use their social media channels to keep people informed of the facts and changes that will affect pensions. Bankruptcy is stressful, but knowing where you stand with your pension can alleviate a lot of that potential stress.

New staff

If you hire someone new for your team and they are over 22 and earning more than £10k a year, then you need to provide them with a workplace pension. Far too many employers are unaware of this need, and it should be an automatic process. That pension will then be contributed to by both the employer and the employee.

If your new hire has been contributing to a workplace pension in their old position, then you should advise them that they may be able to transfer their savings over to their new one.

Pensions are sometimes quite complex, but it’s vital that you understand the ins and outs of how your pension plan works. If you have any questions about your pension setup, then look at the Portafina website or follow them on YouTube, Facebook, or Twitter. Portafina’s Facebook is full of useful information.