A refurbishing of the pension plan for British haulage employees will soon see to it that 92% of the country’s professionals in this particular field are enrolled in a pension scheme, as opposed to the current 44%. The responsibility of signing individuals up for this scheme will fall to the haulage companies, which will abide by a series of guidelines set by the government. 

The new scheme will automatically affect all workers in the haulage sector who are over 22 years of age and whose annual wage is at least £9,440. It will be up to the companies to choose what plan or plans to place each of their employees into, according to their financial health. It will also be possible to create different groups within the same company, with different levels of contribution to the pension programme. Minimum contributions will start at 2%, with 1% put in by the employer, and gradually rise to a minimum of 8% (with 5% put in by the employer.) 

Helping haulage companies sort all of this out will be the National Employees and Savings Trust (NEST), for whom Director of Communications and Engagement Graham Vidler recently conducted a question-and-answer session. Faced with some frequently asked questions about the new programme, Vidler went into detail about how employers should go about signing up their employees, what to look out for, and what sort of deadlines to adopt. 

According to Vidler, it is best not to make any assumptions about this project, since it can be deceptively long-winded and non-linear. The DCE of NEST recommends that CEOs assess their options early on, both with their employees and with their providers, to avoid unnecessary last-minute scrambles. Agreements explaining the conditions of the new programme will also have to be put into writing and presented to the employees, Vidler concludes. 

2012 has seen the largest overhaul to the pension system in the last 100 years, with over 11 million people, working for 1.2 million employers, automatically placed into pension schemes. 

About the Company: 

Haulage Exchange, a division of the highly respected Transport Exchange Group, is now one of the UK’s largest and busiest independent freight exchanges, with more than 4,500 active users and half a million haulage movements nationwide. For more information about Haulage Exchange, visit its website at http://www.haulageexchange.co.uk . 

For Media Contact:
Haulage Exchange
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140 Wales Farm Road, London,
W3 6UG, UK
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Fax: 0844 225 3501
Email: [email protected]