Section 15 amends section 30 of the Pensions (No. 2) Act which allows employers using defined benefits and hybrid schemes to adjust gradually to the additional costs of the automatic enrolment reforms. Currently, section 30 provides that for certain jobholders, where the conditions in section 30(2) are met, the automatic enrolment date under section 3 of the Pensions (No. 2) Act is automatically deferred until the end of a transitional period as set out in regulations. This section amends section 30, so that employers can choose whether or not to defer automatic enrolment until the end of that transitional period.
Subsection (2) amends subsection (3) of section 30 to provide that deferral of the automatic enrolment date will only apply where an employer serves a notice on the jobholder, within a period set out in regulations, stating that the employer intends to defer.
Subsection (3) amends subsection (4) of section 30 (provision where certain conditions in section 30(2) cease to be satisfied during the transitional period) to take account of the fact that the employer has to give a notice in order to defer the automatic enrolment date.
Subsection (4) inserts a new subsection (7A) into section 30, allowing the Department to make regulations regarding the form and content of that notice.