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<p>We are committed to supporting small and micro-businesses to adapt to their new
automatic enrolment duties. Together with The Pensions Regulator, we have launched
a new broadcast-led communications campaign to raise awareness of automatic enrolment
amongst small employers.</p><p>The Pensions Regulator has also recently launched a
new interactive and simplified online step by step guide to automatic enrolment, designed
to meet the specific needs of employers who may not have pensions experience, including
those with just one or two staff. Employers using the website can access tailored
information relevant to their circumstances. The Pensions Regulator also provides
online content for business advisers who play an important role in supporting smaller
employers to meet their legal duties. To raise awareness and understanding, the Regulator
has had over 500 meetings with intermediary firms and spoken at over 300 events around
the UK during the last year</p><p>The Regulator sends a series of letters to every
employer starting at least 12 months before their staging date, which is the date
that the law applies to them. These letters set out what an employer needs to do and
by when to comply with the law and signposts to the relevant information on the Regulator’s
website.</p><p>To help employers adjust to the costs of automatic enrolment the minimum
employer contribution level starts at 1% and increases gradually to 3% by October
2018. In addition, to ensure that all firms have access to quality, low-cost pension
provision, The National Employment Savings Trust (NEST) was established by the Government
and has a public service obligation to accept any employer that chooses NEST for automatic
enrolment.</p>
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