Pension Auto-Enrolment

MSE_Amy · 1 October 2015 at 11:22AM

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lucys_mum · 9 February 2016 at 3:28PM

Hope this is the right place - I am due to retire in October but will not be doing - should I be enrolled into the scheme please?

LHW99 · 14 February 2016 at 9:58PM

Do you mean you will reach state retirement age in October?
If that is the case, and you meet the income criteria, then you would be a "non-eligible job holder" but should be able to opt in to the scheme if you are under 74.

See page 13 of the booklet
http://www.thepensionsregulator.gov.uk/docs/detailed-guidance-1.pdf

richardic · 23 September 2016 at 4:16PM

There seem to be 3 circumstances where you might not want to auto-enrol that are not mentioned in the Guide.
You have one of the Lifetime Allowance Protections that will be lost if you make further pension contributions
You are near to your Lifetime Allowance (currently £1M) and going over the limit would incur a tax penalty of 55%.
You are close to retirement and will be on means tested benefits in retirement. The reduction in means tested benefits could be greater than your own contributions to the pension scheme.

Will the Guide be updated to include these considerations?

kookamunga · 30 November 2016 at 3:10PM

If I run my own company, can I auto-enrol myself into the employer provided pension? If yes, is that still classed as employer provided pension or would that be classed as an individual pension?

LHW99 · 30 November 2016 at 7:57PM

If you are truly "self employed" there is no company - companies are incorporated via Company's House (or similar in other countries) and get a registration number and the right to use Ltd (or Plc).
If you run a company, you have a staging date, and have to autoenrol employees who meet certain criteria.
If you are self employed, you wouldn't be subject to autoenrollment, but you can open you own personal pension or SIPP and get tax relief from the Government.

dunstonh · 6 December 2016 at 3:24PM

If I run my own company, can I auto-enrol myself into the employer provided pension? If yes, is that still classed as employer provided pension or would that be classed as an individual pension?

Probably best asked on the main forum as this gets so few people reading it.

First question: are you self employed like you suggest or are you the shareholding director of a limited company (which is not self employed)?

Limited company

If you dont employ anyone then you dont need an auto-enrolment scheme and are free to use your own individual pension with employer contributions to it. That is what most shareholding directors will do where there are no employees.

If you have employees then you are dragged into auto-enrolment (as are all directors) and have to be auto opted in. You can opt out but you will have to decide whether it is worth it or not. It really depends on your pension and investment choice.

Self employment
Auto enrolment does not apply to you.

DianeRendell · 3 February 2017 at 2:49PM

Is it worth joining a pension scheme for a 9 month contract at age 22?
I have been offfered auto enrolment for a retirement saver scheme with an employer where I am on a 9 month contract.
. I understand the extra money that will be paid in by the employer and tax rebate but when I leave the pot will sit there until the retirement age (65) so over 40 years - won't the scheme charges whittle away the money saved?

dunstonh · 15 February 2017 at 11:34AM

Sorry, this section doesnt get hardly any readers. Most stick to the main pension section. We have asked the board to close it a number of times but they dont seem to mind people not getting responses.

Is it worth joining a pension scheme for a 9 month contract at age 22?

Yes. At 22 you should have a pension and you get "free money" from the employer. What is there not to like about free money?

It may not be for long but when you start your next one you can move the money over.

won't the scheme charges whittle away the money saved?

No. That is statistically impossible.

CapricornLass · 19 February 2017 at 9:58PM

Hi, dunstonh,

Maybe you won't mind me asking my question?

I'm got a contract for 7 months, and I have been autoenrolled. I've just started taking my private pensions, but will try and carry on working for a little longer if I can. However, what I can't decide is whether to pay in money into the new pension in respect of the work I did last year, when I had no pension at all. However, I've got to balance that against the fact that I might not get any more work after July, and that I won't be able to access that money until my state retirement age - in about 6 years time. Either way, its likely to be an extremely small pension pot!

I'd be really interested in your opinion on this - at the moment I'm just going round in circles and dithering!

many thanks,

CapricornLass

patricia1066 · 27 February 2017 at 11:05PM

My employer needs to autoenroll me into a pension, but hasn't got any pension arrangements yet. I saw that NEST seems to have been designed for this situation, low administration required and low charges for a pension plan.

A SIPP is an alternative, but would involve a big learning curve.

Are there any other options to consider that would be easy to administer?

Pension Auto-Enrolment

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