Changing amount of contributions

Thrugelmir

Salary sacrifice is in effect a contractual change of employment terms. Not simply an administration exercise. Though one imagines that many (smaller) employers who offer flexible benefits, have no wish to employ someone simply does monthly payroll changes. Or use an external party to process their payroll and are charged on a transactional fee basis for extra services.

zagfles

What they say is true for most sal sac and used to be true for pensions a few years ago, but no longer is. So it looks like your employer hasn't kept up to date with changes in regulations. Or maybe it's an excuse, it would be too much admin for them.

westv

I would say that to them.
Something like you are aware that there is no such HMRC rule but you assume it's due to company admin.

Marcon

westv wrote: »

I would say that to them.
Something like you are aware that there is no such HMRC rule but you assume it's due to company admin.

Why antagonise them needlessly?

westv

Marcon wrote: »

Why antagonise them needlessly?

Because you can?

jamesd

horace972897 said:They state that you can only make changes to this once a year unless some very specific things happen so you. Things such as drop in hours, partner redundancy, significant financial change etc etc. When questioned about this, as i'd like to increase my pension contributions, i was told i can't as my finanical change isn't in the list and it's HMRC rules that stop them doing this.

They are about eight yeas behind the times. Auto-enrolment rules by law require opting in and out of the pension at any time. This  was incompatible with the old restrictions and would have banned the use of salary sacrifice schemes to meet auto-enrolment obligations.So for pension contributions HMRC removed the restrictions.

This is of particular importance to higher rate tax layers because they can save more NI by doing their sacrificing in as few months as possible.

I suggest that you:

1. ask them to reconsider and use the current rules
2. ask them how to achieve the same result by exercising your unilateral right to opt out and back in under auto-enrolment rules

By law, they cannot refuse requests to opt in or out but some delays are permitted.

xylophone

"Salary sacrifice is in effect a contractual change of employment terms". 
Is actually?
https://www.pruadviser.co.uk/knowledge-literature/knowledge-library/salary-sacrifice-facts/ is  up to date and may be of interest.