Compulsory pension

bouicca21

Coukd someone explain the rules over compulsory pension provision in words of great simplicity please?

I am going to retire this year. I'm over state pension age. I will have an occupational pension (USS), either in full or flexible retirement. I will be taking a part time job either salaried or freelance. If I go for salaried does my employer have to keep me in the pension scheme? That makes for huge on costs and will push them towards freelance, which might be ok (still working out the implications). Plus since I will be on a lower salary scale it might affect the final salary basis of the pension

The gov.uk website indicates compulsory pension for under state pension age, earning more than £10,000 and working in the UK. Do all three criteria have to be met? Or does being over state pension age negate the other two?

jamesd

Employees are not compelled to be in any pension scheme by law, though I suppose there might be some employment agreements that require it. Your age affects your rights.

From age 75 and above: nothing mandatory.

From state pension age to age 74 inclusive: employee on £481 a week and below has a right to join a pension scheme, which might be different from the one used for auto-enrolment. Employees on £481 and up have a right to opt in to the auto-enrolment scheme. Employer does not have to auto-enrol.

An employer is prohibited by law from giving employees incentives not to opt in or to opt out, including prohibiting making it a condition of employment that the employee will not opt in.

The exact ruled depend on age and I've only given the ones relevant to you. The others are on page 6 here.

Since you are asking about USS you should attract posters who know that specific schemes' rules if you click on the edit button then on advanced button. Then you can change the post title from "Compulsory pension" to something like "USS, part time, auto-enrolment over SPA".

hyubh

bouicca21 wrote: »

The gov.uk website indicates compulsory pension for under state pension age, earning more than £10,000 and working in the UK. Do all three criteria have to be met? Or does being over state pension age negate the other two?

There's no 'compulsory' pension - you're referring to auto-enrolment legislation, though admittedly, given employers cannot induce eligible employees to opt out, it may come to a similar thing from the employer's budgeting point of view.

That said, for the circumstances quoted, the employer would not have to auto-enroll you, but you would have a right to opt in if you so chose (https://www.moneyadviceservice.org.uk/en/articles/automatic-enrolment-if-youre-above-state-pension-age).