Auto Re-Enrolment: The Basics

What is it?

Automatic re-enrolment occurs every 3 years and repeats the duties you carried out on your Staging Date. You must ensure all your eligible staff who are not active members of a Qualifying Workplace Pension Scheme (QWPS) with at least the minimum levels of contributions are re-enrolled back into your scheme.

 What you must do

• Choose a re-enrolment date which starts three months before and ends 3 months after the 3^rd anniversary of your Staging Date. For example, if your original staging date was 1st January 2014 you can elect a re-enrolment date of anywhere between 1st October 2016 & 31^st March 2017
• You don’t need to inform The Pensions Regulator of your re-enrolment date
• You must write to the eligible staff individually, within six weeks of your re-enrolment date to tell them how re-enrolment applies to them
• You must complete a new declaration of compliance no later than 2 months after your re-enrolment date

 What you cannot do

• Ignore it
• Operate postponement on re-enrolment i.e. you must enrol people on your re-enrolment date.

Who you have to re-enrol

Yes: Eligible staff who more than 12 months before your chosen re-enrolment date have either:

• Opted Out
• ceased active membership of the QWPS or
• stayed in your QWPS but the contributions are less than the minimum required under the QWPS rules

No: Anybody who:

• Has Opted Out or ceased active membership within 12 months of your re-enrolment date
• Has given in their notice to end their employment or been given notice of dismissal
• Has Primary, Enhanced, Fixed or Individual protection from tax charges on their pensions
• Is a Director of the employer
• Is a Partner of the employer where it is a Limited Liability Partnership

Hopefully your payroll system will automatically highlight most if not all of these people for you but you should check this well in advance of your re-enrolment window.

Opting Out

There is a one-month window in which re-enrolled employees can opt out of the scheme.

Next Steps

If you are nearing or within 9 months of the 3^rd anniversary of your Staging Date please contact your usual Wingate contact or call / email us at:

Tel:        01883 332260

Email:   info@wingatebs.com

This article is a basic introduction to the subject and is not meant to be exhaustive document and should be treated as such. It is based on our current understanding of legislation which can change without notice.  It is not a recommendation for changing any existing arrangements and professional advice should always be sought prior to making any changes to your arrangements or deciding on any action to be taken.