What is an auto-enrolment pension scheme?
It is a pension scheme which your staff are automatically enrolled into by you, their employer. You and your staff must contribute into the pension scheme. They can opt out if they wish but you cannot do so.
How you benefit
Your employer will contribute into a pension fund for you. The government will also give you a tax credit (e.g. for every £18.00 you pay in the government will add £2.00 giving a gross payment in of £20.00).
All the money that is added in will be invested to pay an income to you for when you stop working. Part of it will be free of tax. If you stop working due to ill health all the money paid in may be paid to you earlier. On death the money will also be paid to your nominated beneficiaries; so it will not be lost at any time.
If you are on a tight budget, paying in a little every month will help you get in the habit of setting a little aside each month for your future. The pension scheme has been set up in this way. You can pay in more if you are able to do so.
Extra Benefits
Our product partners have negotiated discounts with most high street shops, which helps you get some money back through every day shopping.
For example, by joining this scheme you will get a discount every-time you shop from Asda and Morrison to John Lewis and Marks & Spencer. You can even check out what deals in your local area; how does a discount off your bill next time you go to your local restaurant? You can use some of that money your are saving from your weekly shop and contribute it into your pension.
To save you the time and hassle we have tabled the top pension questions for you.
If your answer is not here, drop us an email or give us a call and we will do our utmost to help you.
Many very large companies offer what is known as a “rewards package” to their staff as part of pension and insurance packages. Those rewards packages can take the form of shopping discounts, or a discount on your next car MOT with KwikFit or Halfords, as an example. Generally, these deals are not available to smaller firms, but by joining all small companies into one community we can access the same rewards packages as larger employers and without it costing you a penny.
We have been running pension schemes since 2007 and presently have over £50,000,000 of pension funds under administration. Our staff are qualified for the work that we undertake through various professional bodies such as the Pensions Management Institute and the Chartered Insurance Institute. As a firm we are also members of the National Association of Pension Funds, which is the main trade body for pensions in the UK.
Your money is paid directly to an investment management company, who will safeguard your funds in accordance with their requirements under the Financial Conduct Authority.
They will invest that money, prudently and responsibly and are employed to give you the best return they can. Your money cannot be accessed by your employer or any other third party and you can check the amount of money you have built up, as you would with a savings account. We have a mandate with them for them to pay us in connection with the administration of your pension scheme. The details of which are contained on the fund sheet.
Whilst we are registered with the Data Protection Registrar, we are also subject to information controls from the Pensions Regulator and we ensure that the information we hold is only used for this pension scheme. It will never be shared with anyone else other than to prevent fraud or under an enquiry from Government Agencies.
There is presently a lifetime limit you can build up from all sources, which is £1.25 million. In addition, the maximum that can be contributed by you, plus your employer and third parties is capped at £40,000 in the current tax year. There could be scope to pay in more if you have not used up this allowance in the previous three tax years.
The money you have built up will be paid to your nominated beneficiaries; this can be your spouse or family. It can also include non family members and your own good causes, such as a charity.
You can change your nominated beneficiaries online at any time.
People are generally living longer and it is becoming harder to sustain state pensions in their current form. By ensuring that people have their own pension pot on retirement will mean they are better able to support themselves.
It means that you have been automatically enrolled into a pension scheme by your employer; who is required to do this by law.
You can opt out, but you will lose your employer’s pension contributions and you will lose out valuable benefits not linked to the pension scheme, which you only get as a member with us.
Paying into a pension scheme gets you in the habit of saving for the future, your money plus a tax credit from the Government plus investment growth and your employer’s payments will go a long way in the future.
If you change your mind you may be able to opt back in – speak to your employer if you want to do this.
If you stay opted out your employer will normally put you back into pension saving in around three years.
If you change job your new employer will normally put you back into pension saving straight away.
A quarter of the money you have built up will be paid to you free of tax to a bank/building society account of your choice. The rest of your fund is paid as an income, which will be taxed under income tax. You will not have to pay national insurance on those pension payments.
The pension payments can vary as you choose. Pension types are also available, for example if you would like certainty of income for life; pension can be paid as an annuity – i.e. it is paid for the whole of your life. You can even take all of your pension pot as one lump sum. We can give you specific guidance on this nearer the time.
The earliest date you can take your money from your pension with us is at age 55.
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