Here we are at session number 35 , and we’re going to be talking about Auto-enrolment. What’s that? Well, it is the biggest change to pensions in the workplace for quite some time. If you’re an employee in the private sector this affects you. As ever I’ll be giving you everything you need to know and everything you need to do when it comes to this important subject.

Regular listeners will know that, like most advisers, I think pensions are a good idea. Remember a pension is just a wrapper, a box with certain tax rules attached to it. The secret to success with pensions is more about how much you put in to the box and how you invest that money.

Click to Listen

Podcast: Subscribe in iTunes | Play in new window | Download

As you know, I’ve started keeping the content front and centre and pushing the other stuff like reviews, news and announcements till the end; so stay tuned for that stuff after the main body of the show.

Sponsor Message

This podcast is brought to you with the help of Seven Investment Management, a firm of investment managers based in London. They put their name to my show and to my site and videos because they believe in what I’m doing, and I’m very grateful for their support. You can see what they’re up to at 7im.co.uk

Introduction

Workplace pensions come with two key benefits: Firstly, your boss might be paying into it for you. Pretty soon he or she is going to have to, and that’s the subject of today’s show. Also, you get tax relief on the payment you put into your pension.

Let’s not mince words here. This is free money from your boss and free money from the government. It’s hard to see a downside.

And workplace pensions are about to change in some very important ways.

Today’s show is another interview. It’s important that you’re not just listening to me all the time! This time it’s with Chris Daems, director at Principal Financial Solutions in the City of London. Chris and I have a unique connection which I’ll explain at the head of the interview.

Let’s crack on…

Interview

As you know by now, I tend not to transcribe the interviews. I must get a VA to do that for me 😉 But here are the questions I put to Chris; for hte answers, you'll have to listen!

What people need to know:

What are the current requirements for employers regarding pensions for their employees?

What is happening now? A summary of the main points of auto-enrolment

Is this happening to all employers all at once?

As an employer, what are the main things I need to be aware of?

As an employee, what do I need to know?

What people need to do

As an employer, what are the steps I should be taking right now to prepare?

As an employee, what do I need to do to prepare for when the new arrangements kick in?

And finally,

Can you convince me that pensions are a good way of saving for my future?

Where can I find out more if I am

• An employer?
• An employee?
• An adviser?

Links mentioned in this session:

The Pension Regulator

Summary

OK folks, I hope you found the interview with Chris helpful. For the first time ever, employers will be forced to pay in to pensions for their employees, and employees will be automatically joined and have to opt out. I’m encouraged by the results of similar schemes in other parts of the world where opt-out rates are very low and people, particularly young people are more engaged with their financial future.

As ever, if you have comments about this topic or any questions, leave them in the comments section of the shownotes at meaningfulmoney.tv/session35

This week’s reviews

Another 5* review this week, getting perilously close to 50 now – I have 48 ratings in total, all but one of which are 5*. This week’s review is from Cue Ball Z

“This podcast, along with The Property Podcast, got me thinking hard about my financial future. As with all self-help media, you should go in with an open, albeit questioning mind, even if you only cherry-pick certain bits of advice to act upon. This podcast is certainly good for that, plus the easy banter actually makes it enjoyable to listen to. The first few sessions really changed my perspective on budgeting and saving, hopefully for the better.”

Thanks Cue Ball! Wise word there and for me, one of the key benefits of the podcast medium, especially if you deal with one broad topic for episode is that you can pick and choose. It’s content on-demand, which is the way the world is going. Thanks for taking the time to leave me a review

If you’d be kind enough to leave me a review, I’d really appreciate it. Just go to meaningfulmoney.tv/iTunes to do that. This helps others to hear about the show and to subscribe, because it keeps me near the top of the rankings.

Outro

That's it for this session of the MM podcast, I hope it was helpful.

I hope you enjoyed this session. Next time we'll be talking about Financial Planning 101. It’s all I’ve learned about how to be successful with your money in four simple steps.

If you have any questions about this, go to meaningfulmoney.tv/feedback and leave a voicemail

Thanks for listening – I'll talk to you next time