on UC- Can I start workplace Private Pension

NGmartinlewis

Single - 64 years old
on universal credit - no other social benefits 
working in Charity - salary £21500 PA 
started workplace Private pension - putting big amount (only 1 private Pension)
not planning to take from this POT, until retirement.
less savings in bank - will the Saving be calculated with Private Pension? accumulated calculation?


obviously I have to tell UC now, I will be taking less home after Tax and NI,
will UC pay more every month ? because taking home is less.
how does it work? 

I asked UC, they direct me to ask employer? 
please advise 
I don't understand 
I don't want to break the LAW

Suzycoll

Hi
Your post is a bit confusing! Are you saying you used your savings to put into a workplace pension ?

Are you definitely claiming UC earning 21k a year? I didn't know you could?
 
If you are?  you need to declare your new (lower) wages & savings to UC 

Apologies if I misunderstood? 

NGmartinlewis

No not from savings. 
from Salary -deducted to workplace pension.
1400pm after all deductions 
salary is 21k

Suzycoll

I'm not quite sure what you are trying to ascertain? Sorry 

Grumpy_chap

NGmartinlewis said:

Single - 64 years old
on universal credit - no other social benefits 
working in Charity - salary £21500 PA 
started workplace Private pension - putting big amount (only 1 private Pension)
not planning to take from this POT, until retirement.
less savings in bank - will the Saving be calculated with Private Pension? accumulated calculation?


obviously I have to tell UC now, I will be taking less home after Tax and NI,
will UC pay more every month ? because taking home is less.
how does it work? 

I asked UC, they direct me to ask employer? 
please advise 
I don't understand 
I don't want to break the LAW

Welcome to the forum.
This query might be better suited to either the "pensions, annuities and retirement planning" or "benefits and tax credits" areas of the forum than "local money saving". It can be difficult to know where a thread should sit.  I have asked the administrators to consider moving the thread to a better location.

Some of your terminology is a bit inconsistent, but I think you are saying that you are employed on £21k per year and you can make contributions to a work place pension.
How are those contributions made?
Is Salary Sacrifice an option?  It can be the most tax-efficient route, though you may come up against NMW limitations, depending upon how many hours you work.

AIUI, it is permissible to make contributions to a pension while also claiming UC.  If those contributions have been via Salary Sacrifice, then the result is a reduced salary to report to UC and any UC award may increase.
I am not an expert, though, and the rules around pension contributions when claiming UC sometimes hinge on quite subtle details.

You mention "savings in bank".  How much are these savings, and have the savings been declared in the context of your UC claim?

The way UC operates is that it only deals with fact, and DMs cannot comment on possible events.  That can be frustrating, but there is logic behind that approach.

Good luck in resolving your query.

Grumpy_chap

Thank you to the Site Admin for moving this thread.
I see the OP has not been back on for a couple of days but, hopefully, when they do return, this revised location will mean they have more complete advice to review.

peteuk

If it is a work place pension (then its not a private pension) then UC will be calculated on your pay minus tax/NI/pension contribution. 

If its a private pension (but deducted from your wage) then you will have to declare this and evidence that it needs to be taken into account when calculating your UC.