The Pensions Regulator has issued a brief this week, “Staff need to be enrolled before they can opt out”
As outlined in our latest compliance and enforcement bulletin, during the inspections we’ve been carrying out across the country we came across a number of instances where employers had agreed to opt staff out of a workplace pension before they’d been enrolled.
If employers do this, it means they are not complying with their duties in the correct way and may risk a fine if they appear to be making the decision to opt out on behalf of their staff. Eligible staff need to be enrolled first – they can only opt out if they wish to after being enrolled.
Employers need to follow all the steps in our Duties Checker, including setting up a scheme, putting eligible staff into it and writing to them, before they can choose whether to stay in or opt out. See our website for more information on the key steps to follow.