I wasn't auto enrolled when I should have been...

Sprigg

Around 1.5-2 years ago I started earning enough in my job to be auto enrolled in the pension scheme. And never was, even though I did bring this up verbally at a staff meeting. I've been looking through payslips recently getting ready t buy my first home and realised I'm still not paying into it so I have questioned it and got this reply:

"G informed me that you never opted out of the auto enrolment pension, so you should have been enrolled in the pension scheme.

We have asked Michael of  B, our new payroll provider who administer the pension on our behalf. They were tasked to deal with re-enrolment in December 20 ( the employer need  to re-enroll every  employees over 22 who earn more than £10,000 in the year).

Michael confirmed that he had initially re-enrolled you but when it came to uploading the pension file to True Potential ( the  pension scheme) this was blocked for the reason that  you had (apparently) been enrolled within the last year. I am not sure how this happened. May be our previous payroll provider (Douglas Home) did try and enroll you but we were not aware of this and I can see that you never paid any contributions in the the last couple of years.

I was not been made aware of the fact that your re-enrolment had been blocked and I had simply assume that you had opt out of the pension scheme which every employee is entitled to opt out if they want.( Pension is not my specialty)

I spoke to L and we agree that you missed out as a result as your employee contributions of 5% above the earning threshold ( as defined by the Government see calculations below) should have be matched by 3% employer contribution. I can only apologise for this omission and we would like to make it good if possible so you do not loose out.

Michael has confirmed that, they are not able to  refile the  previous year payroll to include your pension contributions. However it would be possible to put additional contributions this month to makeup for the previous contributions that you have missed as a result of not being enrolled as expected.

We have calculated yours and our contributions below, for the previous two years

This means that  if you wanted to to catch all the pension contributions you have missed in the last two years, you would need to make a catch up contribution of  £570.31 and we will match the contribution by £342.18 bringing your total pension fund up to April 21 of £912.49. 

If you are enrolled this month your monthly contributions going forward will depend on the hours worked but should be roughly in line with your April 21 Contribution ( around £30 per month)

I also realised  that the catch up  £570.31 is a very big amount, Michael has confirmed that this could be spread up over a number of months. The far right column, show what the additional contributions would be ( on top of your normal monthly one) if you spread this over 6 months :This would work out at £95.05 contributed by yourself  and £57.03 by us.

If you are happy to make the full or part catch up 5% contribution over the next fiscal year, matched by 3% contributions  form us, just let me know and I will instruct Michael. Could you also indicate how you want this spread.

If you have any further queries just contact me and I will do my best to find the answer."

Can anyone tell me if this is correct? I can't afford these repayments on my part as I have a massive dentist bill that's just came up, but this was not my fault. If anyone could advice that would be much appreciated my manager is also trying to get me reply within two days of getting this information.

dunstonh

I can't afford these repayments on my part as I have a massive dentist bill that's just came up, but this was not my fault.

You would have paid these contributions anyway.  So, what have you done with the money you did not pay to the pension in the first place?    They are being flexible with the payment and seem to be helpful in putting it right.   

Is the scheme salary sacrifice or not?     It may not actually cost you £570.31 due to reduced tax.

Is it wise to be buying a house if you cannot afford a small amount like £570.31 in one go or £95.05 for 6 months?

At the end of the day, it really boils down to pay it or don't pay it.  But you won't get the free employer money unless you pay your share.

Sprigg

dunstonh said:

I can't afford these repayments on my part as I have a massive dentist bill that's just came up, but this was not my fault.

You would have paid these contributions anyway.  So, what have you done with the money you did not pay to the pension in the first place?    They are being flexible with the payment and seem to be helpful in putting it right.   

Is the scheme salary sacrifice or not?     It may not actually cost you £570.31 due to reduced tax.

Is it wise to be buying a house if you cannot afford a small amount like £570.31 in one go or £95.05 for 6 months?

At the end of the day, it really boils down to pay it or don't pay it.  But you won't get the free employer money unless you pay your share.

Hi, the issue is they didn't enrol me at all when they should have. There for no one was paying into my pension because they didn't auto enroll me. And it is their obligation to do so and they did not. What I am asking is due to it being their own fault, do I have to pay my share (can't afford to) to get their as I was not to blame. 

MovingForwards

It was also your fault for not checking payslips and making sure all deductions were right. No, your employer is not obligated to pay your %.

You've two options:
1. Pay the portion you were supposed to pay but didn't, your employer will do likewise with their portion. Remember, they've offered the option of instalments and not having to do it as one lump sum.

2. Forget those couple of years and start paying from now. 

Marcon

Sprigg said:

dunstonh said:

I can't afford these repayments on my part as I have a massive dentist bill that's just came up, but this was not my fault.

You would have paid these contributions anyway.  So, what have you done with the money you did not pay to the pension in the first place?    They are being flexible with the payment and seem to be helpful in putting it right.   

Is the scheme salary sacrifice or not?     It may not actually cost you £570.31 due to reduced tax.

Is it wise to be buying a house if you cannot afford a small amount like £570.31 in one go or £95.05 for 6 months?

At the end of the day, it really boils down to pay it or don't pay it.  But you won't get the free employer money unless you pay your share.

Hi, the issue is they didn't enrol me at all when they should have. There for no one was paying into my pension because they didn't auto enroll me. And it is their obligation to do so and they did not. What I am asking is due to it being their own fault, do I have to pay my share (can't afford to) to get their as I was not to blame. 

Why didn't you say anything when you got your payslip and no deductions for pension were being made?

Sprigg

Marcon said:

Sprigg said:

dunstonh said:

I can't afford these repayments on my part as I have a massive dentist bill that's just came up, but this was not my fault.

You would have paid these contributions anyway.  So, what have you done with the money you did not pay to the pension in the first place?    They are being flexible with the payment and seem to be helpful in putting it right.   

Is the scheme salary sacrifice or not?     It may not actually cost you £570.31 due to reduced tax.

Is it wise to be buying a house if you cannot afford a small amount like £570.31 in one go or £95.05 for 6 months?

At the end of the day, it really boils down to pay it or don't pay it.  But you won't get the free employer money unless you pay your share.

Hi, the issue is they didn't enrol me at all when they should have. There for no one was paying into my pension because they didn't auto enroll me. And it is their obligation to do so and they did not. What I am asking is due to it being their own fault, do I have to pay my share (can't afford to) to get their as I was not to blame. 

Why didn't you say anything when you got your payslip and no deductions for pension were being made?

We were not given payslips regularly. It's a small business and it's been an issue for a while. And payslip also don't go into much detail when you did get them. Not proper break downs of holiday pay and deductions etc. They've recently changed this and this is how I noticed it