Auto Enrolment - General Notice

26/02/2015

Auto Enrolment - General Notice

Mr Bartosz Urbaniak, 6B St James Terrace Selby North Yorkshire YO8 4HL

Automatic enrolment into a workplace pension Automatic enrolment is new legislation which means that all employers must enrol their workers into a workplace pension scheme automatically. I am writing to you to inform you about this new legislation and that it affects AQUMEN BUSINESS SOLUTIONS LTD from 01/10/2014. All employees working for AQUMEN BUSINESS SOLUTIONS LTD need to be enrolled into a workplace pension scheme if they are not already in one and; • Earn over £10000 per annum (equivalent to £192 per week); • Are aged 22 or over; and • Are under state pension age. A workplace pension is a way of saving for your retirement that’s arranged by your employer. In addition to the employee’s payments, AQUMEN BUSINESS SOLUTIONS LTD and the government may also add money into the pension scheme for you. The money is then used to pay you an income when you retire. If you meet the above criteria, you will be enrolled onto the pension scheme automatically and will begin payments directly from your wages on your next payment date following the 01/10/2014. These payments into your pension will be clearly displayed on your payslip.

If you do not meet the above requirements, you may still be eligible to enrol on the pension scheme and benefit from the contributions the government and AQUMEN BUSINESS SOLUTIONS LTD will make for you. Please contact your pensions administrator at the address details shown at the end of this letter for further information on choosing to opt-in to our workplace pension scheme.

Why should I pay into a pension scheme? Most of us are living longer and not saving enough to have the income we'd like in retirement. The state pension is a foundation for your retirement, but you may want more. Saving into a workplace pension means you can continue to enjoy the things you like when you retire. When you pay into your pension, AQUMEN BUSINESS SOLUTIONS LTD and the government may do too. As we will automatically enrol eligible workers into our workplace pension, it's a hassle free way of you saving while you earn. Even if you leave employment with AQUMEN BUSINESS SOLUTIONS LTD you can take your pension with you. Starting to make pension contributions sooner makes saving more manageable - saving smaller amounts over a longer time period has less impact on your current lifestyle. Starting sooner also means your pension will be bigger - the earlier you start, the more time your money has to grow.

If you haven't been enrolled automatically, you can still join a pension scheme. If you haven't been auto enrolled into a pension scheme it's because the legislation has deemed you as one of two employee types. The definition of these employees is below: Non-eligible jobholder So-called because they are not eligible for automatic enrolment (though they can choose to 'opt in' to an automatic enrolment scheme). This is a jobholder who: • is aged at least 16 and under 75, and • earns above the lower earnings level of £111 per week but below the earnings trigger of £192 per week for automatic enrolment. Or: • is aged at least 16 and under 22, or between state pension age and under 75, and • earns above the earnings trigger of £192 per week for automatic enrolment. Entitled worker A worker who: • is aged at least 16 and under 75, and • works, or ordinarily works in the UK, and • earns below the lower earnings level of £111 per week for qualifying earnings.

If you fall into one of these categories you are still eligible to join a pension scheme and AQUMEN BUSINESS SOLUTIONS LTD is happy to support you in this. If you are a non-eligible jobholder you have the right to join the qualifying scheme if you want to. If you are an entitled worker you can ask us, and we will enrol you onto a pension scheme. Depending on the scheme you are entitled to join AQUMEN BUSINESS SOLUTIONS LTD may make contributions to your pension in addition to the amount you pay in. If you’d like to join a pension scheme here at AQUMEN BUSINESS SOLUTIONS LTD you need to submit in writing, a letter or electronic form to us. For legal reasons the details you send must contain the phrase “I confirm I personally submitted this notice to join a workplace pension scheme” and in the case of a written letter, must be signed by you. Send this information on to your pensions administrator at the address shown at the bottom of this letter, and you will then be sent your joining information and enrolled onto our pension scheme. If I haven’t been automatically enrolled and in the future I meet the requirements, what will happen? If you earn more than the minimum threshold £192 per week, you will be automatically enrolled into our workplace pension scheme, so long as you are aged 22 or over, are under State Pension age, and are working or usually work in the UK. If this happens, you can stay in the scheme and begin saving for your retirement and your pension will belong to you, even if you leave us in the future. Alternatively, you can choose to opt out of the scheme if you want to, to do this, contact your pensions administrator for further information on opting out. If you are aged under 22 or over State Pension age when you earn more than £192 per week then you will not be automatically enrolled, but you will have the right to join our workplace pension scheme if you want. If you earn more than £111 per week but not more than £192 per week, you will not be automatically enrolled but you will have the right to join our workplace pension scheme if you want. AQUMEN BUSINESS SOLUTIONS LTD and you will pay into it every month and your pension will belong to you, even if you leave us in the future.

What happens if I’m already a member of the pension scheme? AQUMEN BUSINESS SOLUTIONS LTD is working to ensure we meet our legal requirements as an employer and doing our best for you as our employee, you can be assured that your pension will meet or exceed the government’s requirements. There may be changes to your contribution rates, but this will only be done to ensure our compliance with the new legislation. The only time we will increase your contribution amount is if it is below the lowest value the new legislation will allow. If you have any questions please contact your pensions administrator at the address at the bottom of this letter. A commitment from us If you are under 75, work or usually work in the UK, and earn over £111 per week (the amount set by the government for this): • We must by law continue to maintain your membership of a scheme that meets certain government standards; and • If your membership of such a scheme ends (and it is not because of something you do or fail to do), we must by law put you into another scheme that meets government standards straightaway. What is tax relief? The government takes tax off your income. You can see this on your payslip. Tax relief means some of your money that would have gone to the government as tax now goes into your pension instead. There are two ways tax relief can be applied to your pension as outlined below: 1. The tax relief goes into your pension through the 'net pay arrangement'. This means you don't need to do anything to get the tax relief paid into your pension. It will happen automatically. 2. The tax relief goes into your pension through a 'relief at source' arrangement. This means if you're a basic rate tax payer, you don't need to do anything to get the tax relief paid into your pension. It will happen automatically. If you're a higher or additional rate tax payer, to get full tax relief you need to claim back some of your tax from the government. This is because tax relief is added to your pension at the basic rate of 20 per cent. To get all the tax relief that is due to you, you need to claim back the difference on your annual tax return, or alternatively, if you are a higher rate tax payer you can contact HM Revenue & Customs Further information on how 'net pay' and 'relief at source' tax relief works can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/income-tax-reliefs Yours Sincerely,

AQUMEN BUSINESS SOLUTIONS LTD, BANK HOUSE, 12 BANK STREET, CASTLEFORD, WF10 1HZ.

Further Information More information on pensions and saving for later life can be found on: https://www.gov.uk/workplace-pensions Specific information about the pension scheme offered by AQUMEN BUSINESS SOLUTIONS LTD can be found from our pension provider NEST.