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Last updated June 2015 1
Employers’ Guide to
Auto Enrolment
Version 5
Last updated June 2015 2
Disclaimer
This information has been prepared by Peninsula Pensions. It represents the views of
Peninsula Pensions and should not be treated as a complete and authoritative statement
of the law. Readers may wish, or will need, to take their own legal advice on the
interpretation of any particular piece of legislation. No responsibility whatsoever will be
assumed by Peninsula Pensions, for any direct or consequential loss, financial or
otherwise, damage or inconvenience, or any other obligation or liability incurred by
readers relying on information contained here. Whilst every attempt has been made to
ensure the accuracy of this guide, it would be helpful if readers could bring to the
attention of Peninsula Pensions any perceived errors or omissions.
Contents
Introduction and key points 3
Registration with the Pensions Regulator 5
Your staging date – when to act 6
Assessing your employees 7
Different types of employers
Town and Parish Councils
Community Admission Bodies
Transferee Admission Bodies
9
Opting in and opting out 13
Re-enrolment 15
Postponement 16
Transitional period 18
Employee notifications 19
Flowcharts 22
Template letters 23
Record keeping 24
Information to Peninsula Pensions 26
Checklist 27
Useful links 28
Last updated June 2015 3
Introduction and Key Points From 1 October 2012, the government is introducing ‘Automatic Enrolment’. Automatic
Enrolment means that as an employer member of the Devon and Somerset Local
Government Pension Scheme (LGPS), you must automatically enrol certain members of
your workforce into the LGPS. All employers need to act to comply with the law.
These new duties on employers are to encourage more people to save for a longer
retirement.
Each employer has been allocated a date from which the changes will have to be in place –
this is known as your staging date. See The Pensions Regulator website to see which date
applies to you.
The first Devonand Somerset LGPS allocated staging date will be in February 2013.
Your staging date will be broadly based on the number of people you have in your
largest PAYE scheme in April 2012.
If you are a small employer with fewer than 50 employees your staging date won’t be
until August 2015 at the earliest.
Employers with the largest number of employees will have the earliest staging dates.
If you have any queries about Auto Enrolment, please contact:
Viv Ray
Pensions Project Manager
Peninsula Pensions
Email: [email protected]
Tel: 01392 383000 (Ask for Viv Ray)
Remember:
All employers need to act to comply with the law.
Under Auto Enrolment, eligible employees will be automatically enrolled into the
LGPS (qualifying Workplace Pension Scheme) whether they wish to join or not.
LGPS regulations require any employee under the age of 75 to be automatically
admitted to the scheme.
These eligible jobholders have a right to opt out (and if that occurs in the first three
months the employee will receive a refund of their contributions).
From October 2012 an employee will be able to opt out after they have been auto
enrolled and not before.
Anyone who has opted out of the scheme will be auto-enrolled, if they are eligible,
every three years and so must opt out every three years to stop their contributions.
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An employer with employees eligible for the LGPS is not able to offer any other
pension scheme to their employees (see next paragraph). This means that the
Government-initiated NEST (National Employment Savings Trust) scheme is not
available to eligible LGPS employees.
An employer, such as a Town or Parish Council, who has to designate their
employees to become eligible to join the LGPS can also offer another QWPS i.e.
NEST scheme by not designating their employees. This means such an employer
can, on an individual basis, offer the employee the LGPS or another QWPS.
For Admitted Bodies, only some of their employees are eligible for the LGPS (such
as employees who have been TUPE’d from another LGPS employer). This guide
does not cover those employees that are not eligible for the LGPS.
The Pensions Regulator will write you to notify you of your staging date 12 months
and 3 months before your staging date.
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Registration with The Pensions Regulator
All employers must register with The Pensions Regulator (TPR) within four months of their
staging date. The Pension Regulator’s website has a section on registration and what
information they require with an online registration process.
There is a registration checklist on the TPR website. Below is some of the information they
require:
Question Answer
Type of pension scheme(s) used for
automatic enrolment (personal or
occupational)
Occupational
Name and address of the pension scheme(s)
used for automatic enrolment
Local Government Pension Scheme Peninsula Pensions Great Moor House Bittern Rd Sowton Industrial Estate Exeter EX2 7NL
Pension scheme registry number 10079150 (Devon Pension Fund)
10079159 (Somerset Pension Fund)
Please note you must register with the TPR every three years on re-enrolment.
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Your Staging Date – when to act
You will be allocated a staging date according to the the number of people you have in your
PAYE scheme on 1 April 2012. Larger employers will be the first who will need to apply the
new rules. This date will not change even if the number of employees in the PAYE scheme
changes.
Find out what your staging date is here.
If you have more than one PAYE scheme then the staging date will be decided by the
largest of the PAYE schemes. However, if a ‘small employer’ has fewer than 50 workers
and in April 2012 was part of a PAYE scheme with 50 or more workers, they can choose a
later staging date. Details of dates can be found here.
You can choose to bring your staging date forward. If you would like to do this, you must
give at least one month’s notice to the regulator by email or letter, informing them of your
new chosen date and also obtain agreement from Peninsula Pensions. Details of the
available dates are here.
For employers interested in deferring some aspects of Auto Enrolment see the sections on
postponement and using the transitional period.
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Assessing your Employees
As soon as your staging date has arrived, you must assess your non-pensionable workforce
to find out who is eligible to be auto enrolled into the LGPS.
Here is simple table to help you assess which category your employees are in:
Age
Earnings *
16 – 21
22 – under
State Pension Age
State Pension
Age – 74
Under lower earnings threshold
(2012/13 - £5,564) (2013/14 - £5,668) (2014/15 - £5,772) (2015/16 - £5,824)
Entitled worker
2012/13 - Between £5,564 and £8,105
2013/14 - Between £5,668 and £9,440
2014/15 - Between £5,772 and £10,000
2015/16 - Between £5,824 and £10,000
Non-eligible jobholder
Over earnings trigger for automatic enrolment (2012/13 - £8,105) (2013/14 - £9,440) (2014/15 - £10,000) (2015/16 - £10,000)
Non-
eligible
jobholder
Eligible jobholder Non-eligible
jobholder
*Earnings: separate contracts treated separately To align with National Insurance contributions lower earnings limit To align with the PAYE threshold The Secretary of State will review the above figures each tax year It should be noted that the effective date for figures in each new tax year is 6 April. Thus, if an employer has a staging date of 1 April then to determine whether a worker is an eligible jobholder on that date the employer should use the earnings factor applicable on 1 April; but if the worker becomes an eligible jobholder on or after 6 April (e.g. on attaining age 22) the employer should use the new earnings factors that apply from 6 April.
Earnings The definition of qualifying earnings for Auto Enrolment purposes can be found in the Pension Regulators Guidance 3 – Assessing the Workforce. This is not the same as pensionable earnings on which a member pays pension contributions on.
Existing employees
As an LGPS employer, all of your employees – apart from those on a contract of less than 3
months – will already have been enrolled into the LGPS when you employed them.
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Those employees who opted out of the LGPS need to be assessed to check whether they
are eligible to be auto enrolled back into the LGPS.
It is the responsibility of the individual to opt out when they are automatically enrolled.
Enrolling eligible jobholders on your staging date
Only jobholders who meet both of the following criteria are ‘eligible jobholders’ and must be
automatically enrolled into the LGPS on your allocated staging date (see postponement):
Eligible jobholder
Age between 22 and state pension age
AND
Earnings of (2012/13)£8,105 a year (pro rata) or
(2013/14) £9,440 a year (pro rata) or (2014/15/16)
£10,000 a year (pro rata) This amount will be reviewed
annually by the Government.
If in the future an eligible jobholder who was brought into the LGPS by automatic enrolment
drops their pay to below the earnings trigger, they will remain in the pension scheme unless
they choose to opt out.
While female state pension ages are gradually catching up with men’s, employers will be required to calculate the individual’s State Pension Age date to assess whether they will need to be auto-enrolled. Non-eligible jobholders and Entitled workers Other categories of employees who don’t meet the above criteria can opt into the LGPS at
anytime.
Enrolling other eligible jobholders after the staging date After the initial staging date, an employee who is not a member of the LGPS because they had opted out will become an eligible jobholder when they reach one of the qualifying triggers and will be automatically enrolled into the LGPS.
New employees (contractual enrolment)
There is no change to the current procedure for admitting a new employee into the LGPS
because under the LGPS regulations all new employees are automatically brought into the
pension scheme from the start of their employment (unless they are employed on a contract
of less than three months). Those employees with contracts of less than three months will
be brought into the pension scheme when they have been employed for three months, but
can opt to join at any time before then.
Useful links on the Pension Regulators website:
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The different types of worker
Employer duties and defining the workforce
Assessing the workforce
Different types of employers The majority of employers who participate in the Devon County or Somerset County Pension Funds are covered by Part 1 of Schedule 2 to the LGPS (Administration) Regulations 2008, however there are three different types of employers who are covered by Part 2 of Schedule 2 who have slightly different options for auto enrolment, these employers are:
Designated Employers – mainly Town and Parish Councils
Community Admission Bodies
Transferee Admission Bodies The following pages gives details on how these types of employers have different choices.
TOWN AND PARISH COUNCILS (Designated employers)
Employers covered by Part 2 of Schedule 2 to the LGPS (Administration) Regulations
2008 (mainly Town and Parish Councils):
These employers may, following their ‘staging date’, consider the option of ceasing to
designate new employees for membership of the LGPS. However, if they do so, they need
to consider the potential impact on their employer contribution rate resulting from a
diminishing active membership base in the LGPS and the consequences of a crystallisation
of any funding deficit should they cease at some point to have any active members of the
LGPS. Such employers who may be considering ceasing to designate new employees for
membership of the LGPS should speak with Peninsula Pensions when considering the
potential consequences.
Should such an employer decide not to offer membership of the LGPS to new employees
they will need to check their designation wording and amend as necessary e.g. to cease any
blanket designation that states that all employees are eligible for the LGPS; or all employees
within a specified class of employees are eligible for membership the LGPS; or all
employees occupying specified posts are eligible for membership of the LGPS, etc.
If, however, such an employer wishes to offer a choice of the LGPS or an alternative
qualifying scheme to new employees they would need to specify which scheme is the default
qualifying scheme into which new employees will be enrolled.
For example, the employer might specify that the alternative scheme is the default scheme
for automatic enrolment. However, if a new employee were to elect before commencement
of employment to join the LGPS instead, the employer would designate the employee,
before the first day of employment, for membership of the LGPS. The employee would thus
be contractually enrolled into the LGPS (and automatic enrolment into the alternative
Last updated June 2015 10
scheme would not apply). If a new employee did not elect before commencement of
employment to join the LGPS then the alternative scheme would be the automatic enrolment
scheme. The employer could, if they wished, still permit the employee to make a subsequent
election to move from the alternative scheme into the LGPS. If the employer permits such a
move they would, upon an election being made by the employee, need to then designate the
employee for membership of the LGPS (enabling that employee to be removed from the
alternative qualifying scheme and contractually enrolled into the LGPS, which is also a
qualifying scheme).
If the employer does specify the alternative scheme as the default qualifying scheme the
employer will need to change their designation wording to provide (if it does not already so
provide) that only those individual employees who the employer designates from time to time
will be eligible for membership of the LGPS i.e. those employees who choose the LGPS in
preference to the employer’s alternative qualifying scheme will be the employees the
employer designates.
COMMUNITY ADMISSION BODIES
Employers covered by regulation 5 of the LGPS (Administration) Regulations 2008:
These employers are Community Admission Bodies who participate in the LGPS under an
admission agreement. If their admission agreement:
a) is one under which they individually nominate employees for membership of the LGPS, they may consider the option of ceasing to designate new employees for membership of the LGPS, or
b) is one that is open to named posts, or is open to all employees, they may consider the option of negotiating an amendment to their admission agreement with the Pension Fund administering authority so that it becomes a closed admission agreement or provides that only new employees who the employer wishes to designate for membership will be eligible for membership.
However, the body will need to consider the potential impact on their employer contribution
rate resulting from a diminishing active membership base in the LGPS and the
consequences of a crystallisation of any funding deficit should they cease at some point to
have any active members of the LGPS. Community Admission Bodies who may be
considering either of the options above should liaise with their Pension Fund administering
authority when considering the potential consequences.
If the employer wishes to offer a choice of the LGPS or an alternative qualifying scheme to
new employees they would need to specify which scheme is the default qualifying scheme
into which new employees will be enrolled.
For example, the employer might specify that the alternative scheme is the default scheme
for automatic enrolment. However, if a new employee were to elect before commencement
of employment to join the LGPS instead, the employer would designate the employee,
before the first day of employment, for membership of the LGPS. The employee would thus
be contractually enrolled into the LGPS (and automatic enrolment into the alternative
scheme would not apply). If a new employee did not elect before commencement of
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employment to join the LGPS then the alternative scheme would be the automatic enrolment
scheme. The employer could, if they wished, still permit the employee to make a subsequent
election to move from the alternative scheme into the LGPS. If the employer permits such a
move they would, upon an election being made by the employee, need to then designate the
employee for membership of the LGPS (enabling that employee to be removed from the
alternative qualifying scheme and contractually enrolled into the LGPS, which is also a
qualifying scheme).
If the employer does want to specify the alternative scheme as the default qualifying scheme
the employer would need to agree an amendment to their admission agreement with the
Pension Fund administering authority so it provides (if it does not already do so) that only
those individual employees who the employer designates from time to time will be eligible for
membership of the LGPS i.e. those employees who choose the LGPS in preference to the
employer’s alternative qualifying scheme will be the employees the employer designates.
TRANSFEREE ADMISSION BODIES
Employers covered by regulation 6 of the LGPS (Administration) Regulations 2008:
These employers are Transferee Admission Bodies who participate in the LGPS under an
admission agreement. If their admission agreement:
a) is one under which they individually nominate employees for membership of the LGPS, they may consider the option of ceasing to designate new employees for membership of the LGPS, or
b) is one that is open to named posts, or is open to all employees, they may consider the option of negotiating an amendment to their admission agreement with the Pension Fund administering authority so that it becomes a closed admission agreement or provides that only new employees who the employer wishes to designate for membership will be eligible for membership
However, the body will need to consider the potential impact on their employer contribution
rate resulting from a diminishing active membership base in the LGPS and the
consequences of a crystallisation of any funding deficit should they cease at some point to
have any active members of the LGPS. Transferee Admission Bodies who may be
considering either of the options above should liaise with their Pension Fund administering
authority when considering the potential consequences.
It should be noted that, by virtue of the Best Value Authorities Staff Transfers (Pensions)
Direction 2007, a Transferee Admission Body with an open or closed admission agreement
that relates to a contract with a best value authority in England (listed in section 1 of the
Local Government Act 1999) or with a police authority in Wales cannot cease to offer
membership of the LGPS (or membership of a broadly comparable scheme) to the
“transferring employees” or “transferring original employees” for so long as those employees
are employed in connection with the provision of a service or assets in connection with the
exercise of a function of that authority.
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Subject to the paragraph above, if the employer wishes to offer a choice of the LGPS or an
alternative qualifying scheme to employees they would need to specify which scheme is the
default qualifying scheme into which the employees will be enrolled.
For example, the employer might specify that the alternative scheme is the default scheme
for automatic enrolment. However, if a new employee were to elect before commencement
of employment to join the LGPS instead, the employer would designate the employee,
before the first day of employment, for membership of the LGPS. The employee would thus
be contractually enrolled into the LGPS (and automatic enrolment into the alternative
scheme would not apply). If a new employee did not elect before commencement of
employment to join the LGPS then the alternative scheme would be the automatic enrolment
scheme. The employer could, if they wished, still permit the employee to make a subsequent
election to move from the alternative scheme into the LGPS. If the employer permits such a
move they would, upon an election being made by the employee, need to then designate the
employee for membership of the LGPS (enabling that employee to be removed from the
alternative qualifying scheme and contractually enrolled into the LGPS, which is also a
qualifying scheme).
If the employer does want to specify the alternative scheme as the default qualifying scheme
the employer would need to agree an amendment to their admission agreement with the
Pension Fund administering authority so it provides (if it does not already do so) that only
those individual employees who the employer designates from time to time will be eligible for
membership of the LGPS i.e. those employees who choose the LGPS in preference to the
employer’s alternative qualifying scheme will be the employees the employer designates.
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Opting in and opting out
Opting in
Employees who previously opted out of the LGPS can opt back in at anytime before they
reach the age of 75.
Because the LGPS allows all employees to join the pension scheme, the employee does not
have to meet the age and pay triggers to join, but does have to meet the age and pay criteria
specified to be automatically enrolled by the employer.
An opting-in notice applies from the start of the next pay period, so if you receive the opting-
in form on 11 May (for example), the employee would be brought into the LGPS from 1 June,
pay period could be weekly if applicable.
Opting out
Any employee who is a member of the LGPS, even as the result of the automatic enrolment
rules, can choose to opt out of the pension scheme at any time. If the employee opts out
within three months (From 1st April 2014 this will change to 2 years) of joining then their
pension contributions will be refunded to them through their payroll payment.
An opt out form cannot be given to the employee by the employer, it must be provide by
Peninsula Pensions or can be downloaded from the website.
If the employee chooses to opt out at 3 months (From 1st April 2014 this will change to 2
years) from joining or after, then their pension contributions cannot be refunded, but instead
they will be entitled to a deferred benefit in the LGPS.
Once an employee has submitted a valid opt-out form within the required time period:
You must arrange for a refund of the employee’s pension contributions (less tax and
any National Insurance adjustment) through their payroll system. This must happen
within one month of receiving the valid form, or if the payroll cut-off date has passed
then by the last day of the next pay period. From 1st April 2014 payroll will be
required to refund contributions if service is less than 3 months if over 3 months then
Peninsula Pensions will make the refund.
For a refund for under 3 months service your pension contributions must also be
refunded to you from the pension fund, which is usually achieved by an adjustment to
your contributions the next time payment is made to the pension fund. If Peninsula
Pensions make the refund then there is no refund adjustment of employers
contributions.
A refund to the employee must not be delayed if they are waiting for a refund of
contributions from the pension fund. If necessary you must cover the cost of the
refund.
Where the contributions to be refunded, for under 3 months service, span tax years this must
be dealt with by payroll in accordance with HMRC guidance (see
http://hmrc.gov.uk/payerti/reporting/errors/previous-year.htm).
Last updated June 2015 14
If the opting-out form is received after the period when an employee can receive a refund, it
will apply from the following pay period.
New employees
From October 2012 the LGPS regulations were amended so that, an employee can no
longer opt not to join the LGPS before they are brought into it. Once they are in the LGPS
they are able to opt out at any time by filling in a form supplied by Peninsula Pensions or can
be found downloaded from our webpages.
If an employee chooses to opt out they can rejoin at any time in the future if they are under
the age of 75. If they decide not to rejoin, they will be auto enrolled again three years after
the staging date.
If they opted out within the previous 12 months, they will be auto enrolled again at the
following three year anniversary.
* In order to for an employee, who has been issued with a Fixed or Enhanced Protection
Certificate by HMRC, to keep their protection they will need to opt out of the LGPS within
three months of joining. If they don’t do this they will lose their protection.
Important note
Employers must no longer issue new employees with an:
opting-in form as all employees will automatically join the LGPS when they start
employment,
opting-out form as this can only be provided by Peninsula Pensions once the
employee is a member of the LGPS.
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Re-enrolment
You must re-enrol employees (who meet the automatic enrolment triggers) not already in the
LGPS every three years from the staging date or previous automatic re-enrolment date. You
have a three month period of flexibility either side of these dates.
If at the re-enrolment date an employee had already opted out in the previous 12 months,
they won’t be re-enrolled until the following three year re-enrolment cycle.
This means that even though the employee will have opted-out – even on more than one
occasion – if they meet the required age and pay criteria, they will be brought back into the
LGPS again, but once again they can choose to opt out.
An employee who never wants to join the LGPS will continue to be brought into the pension
scheme every three years and will need to opt out each time.
If an employee has elected to join the 50/50 section (available from 1st April 2014) they must
automatically be brought back into the 100/100 section at re-enrolment date, however they
can elect again to go back into the 50/50 section after the re-enrolment date.
Important note
Those employees who have previously opted-out and have then become an eligible
jobholder for the first time must be automatically brought into the LGPS at that time and
will not wait for the three year re-enrolment date.
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Postponement
Auto-enrolment legislation lets an employer postpone bringing an eligible employee into the
pension scheme by up to three months. This option is only available at:
the employer’s staging date
when an employee starts employment on or after the original staging date (see
below)
when an employee first becomes an eligible jobholder.
You can choose to use postponement for all or some of your employees.
Employees on contracts of less than three months
However, it will be necessary for you to use individual postponement dates for those eligible
jobholders who, at staging date, are employed on a contract of less than three months. The
postponement date will be when the employee reaches three months employment.
Postponement is not possible for new employees unless they are employed as a casual
employee (those employed on a contract for less than three months) as the LGPS
regulations require all other employees to be automatically brought into the LGPS on starting
employment.In order to satisfy the LGPS regulations an employer must choose to use
postponement for the maximum three months for those employees with a contract for less
than three months including NOMO casual employees (no mutuality of obligation)*.
An eligible employee can choose to join the Local Government Pension Scheme at any time
during the postponement period.
If you choose to use postponement, you have one month from your original staging date, or
if later when the employee meets the criteria to be an eligible jobholder, to notify employees
of their postponement date.
*From 10th February 2014 the LGPS regulations were amended so that employees with
contracts of under 3 months must be auto-enrolled at the employers Staging Date if it occurs
after this date. However, it is still possible to use the 3 months postponement if employer
chooses to.
No Mutuality of Obligation (NOMO)
Option 1
You must send NOMO casual employees (those where there is no mutuality of obligation for
the employee to accept work or the employer to offer work) a postponement notice each
time they undertake work. This is because each period of work they are offered and accept,
forms a new employment contract.
Option 2
If you decide not to issue a postponement notice, you must issue a letter each time the
employee is offered and accepts work. This letter should explain that:
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they may opt into the LGPS if they are an entitled worker or a non-eligible jobholder
you must automatically enrol them into an automatic enrolment scheme - not the
LGPS
they must be enrolled in the first pay reference period in which they are or become
an eligible jobholder (with the right to opt out).
You cannot automatically enrol a worker into the LGPS as the LGPS does not permit
automatic enrolment (only enrolment by option) for those with a contract of employment for
less than three months*.
*However, from 10th February 2014 the LGPS regulations were amended so that employees
with contracts of under 3 months must be auto-enrolled at the employers Staging Date if it
occurs after this date. However, it is still possible to use the 3 months postponement if
employer chooses to.
It is recommended that Option 1 is used and as NOMO casuals usually have to complete a
claim form/timesheet, a subset of the information from Letter P could be included on the
back of the timesheet. This avoids the need to issue Letter P every time a NOMO casual
employee undertakes work. See template letter Claim P (NOMO)
Link: Postponement
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Transitional Period
The automatic enrolment legislation allows an employer with a defined benefit pension
scheme (such as the Local Government Pension Scheme), to choose to delay automatic
enrolment for its existing eligible jobholders. The transitional period will end on 30
September 2017 regardless of the employer’s original staging date.
The assessment to be an eligible jobholder must be made on the employer’s first enrolment
date. Thus, the transitional delay cannot be applied to a worker who would normally have
earnings at a level which would place them in the category of being an eligible jobholder but
whose earnings on the employer’s first enrolment date have dropped to below the eligible
jobholder earnings trigger e.g. because of sick leave, maternity leave etc.
The transitional period delays automatic enrolment for existing eligible jobholders until after
the end of the transitional period. New employees will still need to be automatically enrolled
on starting employment.
All eligible jobholders must be informed of a transitional period delay within one month of the
employer’s original staging date. If there are no eligible jobholders at the staging date then
the employee must be informed of a transitional period delay when first becoming an eligible
jobholder.
If during the transitional period an employee who is an non-eligible jobholder or an entitled
worker meets the criteria to be an eligible jobholder for the first time, they will automatically
be brought into the LGPS.
If an eligible jobholder who was covered by the transitional period breaks their continuity of
employment, then the transitional period ends for that eligible jobholder.
You cannot choose to automatically enrol employees at an earlier date during the transitional
period.
An eligible employee can still choose to join the LGPS at any time during the transitional
period by completing an opt-in form.
Using both Postponement and Transitional Period
Some employers may wish to apply postponement and the Transitional Period for their
employees and the table below shows which timescale applies to different workers:
Postponement Transitional Period
Existing non-eligible jobholders
Existing eligible jobholders at staging date Existing entitled workers
Existing and new casual workers (those with
contracts of less than 3 months)
Link: Transitional period
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Employee notifications
You are required to provide all employees with specific information in various possible formats. The Pensions
Regulators website provides comprehensive details of their requirements. The table below attempts to consolidate this
information
Employee Type Timescale Letter format Information required (see template letters)
Existing LGPS members
When automatic
enrolment is repeated
every three years, no
further notification is
required
Within two months
of your staging
date
Can use
Letter
Personal email
Payslip
HR web-portal Cannot use
Non-personal email
Workplace poster
Internet/intranet site
Notification must include Dear Member or member’s actual name
Confirmation that the jobholder is an active member of the LGPS
A statement that if the jobholder ceases membership of the LGPS through no fault of their own, that the employer will enrol them into another automatic enrolment scheme
Where to obtain further information about pensions and saving for retirement
New LGPS members
includes eligible
jobholders
When automatic
enrolment is repeated
every three years, further
Within one month
of your staging
date, or the
employee’s first
day of
employment, or
when the employee
Can use
Letter
Personal email
Payslip
HR web-portal
Cannot use
Notification must include Personal address (‘Dear Mrs Smith’, for example)
Confirmation that they have been or will be automatically enrolled in the LGPS to help them save for their retirement
Automatic enrolment date
Contribution rate percentage applicable to employee
Statement that pension contributions payable to the scheme
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notification is required first becomes an
eligible jobholder
Non-personal email
Workplace poster
Internet/intranet
site
have been or will be deducted from employee’s pensionable pay
Confirmation that employee will receive tax relief on their pension contributions, if tax payer
How to opt out and also how to opt back in
Opt-out form must not be provided by employer, but instead is given to the employee on request from Peninsula Pensions
Employee cannot opt out until they have joined the LGPS, any opt-out forms received before the date the employee has joined the LGPS will be invalid
If you have chosen to use the transitional period to defer your staging date then you must inform those eligible workers of this decision
A statement about where to find further information about pensions and saving for retirement
Employees not eligible
for auto enrolment
Non-eligible jobholders
and entitled workers
When automatic
enrolment is repeated
every three years, no
further notification is
required if they continue
to be non-eligible
jobholders or entitled
workers
Within one month
of your staging
date or when they
first become a non-
eligible jobholder or
entitled worker
Can use:
Letter
Personal email
Payslip
HR web-portal Cannot use:
Non-personal email
Workplace poster
Internet/intranet site
Notification must include
Addressed personally (‘Dear Mrs Smith’ for example)
How to opt in and also how to opt out
Where to obtain opt-in forms
Opt-out form must not be provided by you, but instead is given to the employee on request from Peninsula Pensions
Employee cannot opt out until they have joined the LGPS. Any opt-out forms received before the date the employee has joined the LGPS will be invalid
Where to obtain further information about pensions and saving for retirement
Last updated June 2015 21
Mandatory information to
be included in the
employee notice for the
transitional period for
defined benefit scheme
(LGPS)
Within one month
of your staging
date
Notification must include
A statement that you intend to defer automatic enrolment for that jobholder until the end of the transitional period
A statement that the jobholder may, by giving written notice to you, require the employer to make arrangements for them to become an active member of an automatic enrolment scheme (LGPS) and that you will make contributions
A statement that a written notice from the worker must be signed by the worker or, if it is given by email, must include a statement that the worker personally submitted the notice
A statement about where to find further information about pensions and saving for retirement
Link: Information to Workers
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Flowcharts
There are seven flowcharts available to help you decide what you need to do for employees
in different circumstances. They provide details of timescales and template letters with
suggested wording.
1 Existing workers your staging date with a contract for three months or more (including
casuals with open-ended contracts)
1a Existing workers who are members of the LGPS on the Employer’s Staging Date
and who subsequently opt out of membership of the LGPS
2 Existing eligible jobholders on your staging date who are not active members of the
LGPS and the employer wishes to apply the transitional delay period.
3 Existing workers on your staging date with a contract for less than three months
(including NOMO casuals)
4 New workers on or after the employer’s staging date with a contract for three months
or more (including casuals with open-ended contracts)
5 New workers on or after the employer’s staging date with a contract for less than three
months
6 Workers whose contract are extended to three months or more
7 New workers on or after the employer’s staging date who are NOMOs with a contract
for less than three months
You can find the above flowcharts on the Peninsula Pensions website. Please go to auto-
enrolment section in the employers’ section of the site.
Please note that the following qualifications apply to those boxes in the flowcharts that
contain asterisks:
* unless the eligible jobholder had opted out within the previous 12 months
** but the employer may choose to remind the person that they can opt into the LGPS if they
wish.
Last updated June 2015 23
Template Letters
Attached is an index of eleven template letters which you can use to provide required
information to your employees:
Letter
A
Issue to workers who, on your staging date, are already members of the
LGPS.
Letter
B
Issue to eligible jobholders who, on your staging date, are not already
members of the LGPS.
Letter
C
Issue to non-eligible jobholders and entitled workers who, on your staging
date, are not members of the LGPS and have a contract for three months or
more.
Letter
D
Issue to workers who, after they start employment, and after the employer’s
staging date:
become a non-eligible jobholder or an entitled worker for the first
time
are not members of the LGPS
and have a contract for three months or more.
Letter
E
Issue to workers who, after they start employment, and after your staging
date, opt to join the LGPS under the automatic enrolment duties.
Letter
F
Send to employees contractually enrolled into the LGPS.
Letter
G
Send to employees contractually enrolled into the LGPS when their initial
contract for less than three months is extended to three months or more.
Letter
L
Send to employees who opt to join the LGPS during the postponement or
transitional delay periods
Letter
P
Issue to workers who have a contract for less than three months (including
NOMO casuals) for whom you wish to postpone the automatic enrolment
duties.
Claim
P
Information provided on claim form/timesheet for NOMO casual employees
where you wish to postpone the automatic enrolment duties.
Letter
T
Issue to existing eligible jobholders who, on your staging date, are not
contributing to the LGPS, and you have decided to apply the transitional
delay period.
You can find the above letters on the Peninsula Pensions website. Please go to auto-
enrolment section in the employers’ section of the site.
Last updated June 2015 24
Record Keeping
Employers must keep records about their workers to be made available to The Pensions
Regulator on request.
You may ask your outside payroll provider to keep the required records, but it will be your
responsibility to make sure that the required information is held.
Records an employer must keep about jobholders and workers
Who the record is
about What record must be kept
How long it
must be
kept
Jobholders and
workers who become
members
Name
NI number if known
Date of birth
Gross earnings in each relevant pay reference period
Employee and employer pension contributions relevant to each pay period payable to the LGPS
Date contributions were paid to the scheme 6 years
Additional information
for jobholders only
Automatic enrolment date
Opt-in notice (original format) (photocopies/electronically stored are acceptable)
Opt-out notice (original format)
(photocopies/electronically stored are
acceptable)
4 years
Additional information
for workers only
Date the worker became an active member of LGPS
Joining notice (original format) (photocopies/electronically stored are acceptable) 6 years
All workers for whom
the employer has
used postponement
Name
NI number if known
Date the notice was sent to the worker
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Records an employer must keep about the pension scheme
Type of pension
scheme being used What record must be kept
How
long it
must be
kept
Defined benefit (DB)
LGPS
Employer pension scheme reference
Scheme name and address
Scheme contracting-out certificate
6 years
Link: Record Keeping
Last updated June 2015 26
Information to Peninsula Pensions
New Starters
For each eligible jobholder who is being automatically enrolled, you must give the Peninsula Pensions (trustees, managers or providers of the pension scheme), the following information about the eligible jobholder within one month (joining window) of the employee joining the
LGPS:
Name
Sex
Date of birth
Automatic enrolment date
Postal residential address
National Insurance number. If not known the employer must provide the NI number
to Peninsula Pensions at a later date, and within one month of receiving it
Work email address (if one exists)
Personal email address (if known)
Gross pensionable earnings
Pension contribution rate
Auto Enrolment category of worker
There is a template starter’s spreadsheet on our website which employer’s need to complete
each month once they have reached their staging date, this will replace the need for
starters forms (EAS1)
Opt outs
When an employee opts out of the LGPS the employer is required to notify Peninsula
Pensions within 1 month.
There is a template opt out spreadsheet on our website for the employer to email to
Peninsula Pensions each month.
Spreadsheets
Please send starters spreadsheet and opt out spreadsheet to Peninsula Pensions at the end
of each month. If there were no new starters or opt outs please send a NIL return. Send to:
Last updated June 2015 27
Checklist
You must register with The Pensions Regulator within 4 months of your staging date /
re-enrolment date.
You must make the following decisions before your staging date:
o Will the transitional period be used to delay bringing in your ‘eligible
jobholders’ until October 2017?
o Will the postponement period of up to three months be used? Note: you must
use it for those employees who have a contract of less than three months to
comply with auto enrolment rules.
You must carry out an assessment of your workforce on one of the following dates
(whichever is the latest):
o start of employment providing employer has not chosen postponement
o staging date or postponement date
o start and end of transitional period if employer has chosen to use this facility
You must continue to carry out an assessment of their workforce on the first day of
the pay period in case they meet the criteria to be an eligible jobholder.
During the employee’s ‘joining window’ (the one month period from the eligible
jobholder’s automatic enrolment date) you must:
o supply information to Peninsula Pensions about new joiners
o supply information to new LGPS members
o ensure eligible jobholder’s are admitted to LGPS
At the staging date you must send:
o information to those already in the LGPS o information to eligible jobholders being brought into the LGPS o information to non-eligible jobholders (and entitled workers if you want to)
about the choice to join o information about postponement of staging date by up to three months to
those not in the LGPS o information about using the transitional period up to 30 September 2017 to
those not in the LGPS
Before the staging date amend claim forms/timesheets for NOMO employees if you decide to provide postponement information on completion of these forms.
Last updated June 2015 28
Useful links
Beginners’ guide to auto enrolment for employers
This is a very useful guide for employers who are beginners to auto enrolment
http://www.thepensionsregulator.gov.uk/employers/beginners-guide-to-auto-
enrolment.aspx
Seven steps to prepare for automatic enrolment
The main steps an employer needs to take to fulfil the employer duties
www.thepensionregulator.gov.uk/employers/7-steps.aspx
Detailed guides for employers (and pension professionals) by volume
www.tpr.gov.uk/pensions-reform/detailed-guidance.aspx
What information do employers need to provide to their workers?
www.thepensionregulator.gov.uk/docs/Pensions-reform-resource-information-to-
workers.pdf
Detailed guides for software developers
http://www.thepensionsregulator.gov.uk/professionals/software-developers.aspx
Employer communication material jointly from DWP and The Pensions
Regulator
http://www.thepensionsregulator.gov.uk/workplacepensions.html
Local Government Pensions Committee employers guide
http://www.lge.gov.uk/lge/core/page.do?pageId=17995528