Every UK employer must auto-enrol staff earning £10,000

If you work in the UK, are aged 22 or over but under state pension age, and earn at least £10,000 a year, your employer must put you into a workplace pension. The only exception is a worker already in a suitable scheme. You do not have to ask. The duty covers businesses of every size, according to Acas.

How the money goes in

In some workplace schemes, a share of your pay goes into the pension each payday, and your employer pays in as well. The law sets a minimum for those contributions. The Pensions Regulator’s guidance notes that the minimum rose by statute in 2018 and again in 2019.

The scheme itself has to pass a test. The regulator’s guidance sets out what makes a scheme an “automatic enrolment scheme” or a “qualifying scheme”, for UK and non-UK pension schemes alike. An employer can use a pension it already runs or set up a new occupational or personal scheme, as long as it meets those criteria. The current version of that guidance dates from June 2021.

Not eligible? You can still opt in

Workers who fall outside the automatic rules are not shut out. If a “non-eligible jobholder” gives the employer an opt-in notice, the employer must enrol them too, the regulator says.

Leaving, and being put back

You can opt out by signing an opt-out form. Leave within one month of joining and you get back what you have paid in. After that month you can still stop paying, but the money already in the pot may stay there until you retire.

Opting out is not permanent. Your employer must re-enrol you every 3 years if you still qualify, and may do it sooner. It should tell you in writing, such as by letter or email, and you can opt out again.

You can also ask to rejoin at any time. An employer has to accept only one such request in any 12 months, Acas says.

When the payments go missing

Acas gives two examples of problems. One is an employer that does not pay its contributions. The other is an employer that takes money from your pay but never passes it to the provider. Acas suggests raising it informally first, and then through a formal grievance if that fails. MoneyHelper gives free guidance on pensions, including on contributions that were never paid.