This factsheet provides an overview of the pensions auto enrolment process.

Employers must arrange for all eligible “jobholders” to be automatically enrolled into a qualifying pension scheme. Employers can use an existing occupational or personal pension scheme provided it meets certain requirements. Alternatively, the employer may choose to enrol “jobholders” into the National Employment Savings Trust (NEST), a government-established scheme.

One of the requirements of a qualifying pension scheme is that no new joiner may be asked to make a choice or provide any information in order to join the scheme as an active member. That means that sufficient information required to enrol new joiners into the scheme will have to be obtained as part of the general recruitment process. Furthermore, the relevant pension scheme must have a default investment fund as employees will not be able to make investment choices until after they are in the scheme.

Once enrolled, the employer will be obliged to pay mandatory minimum contributions into the pension scheme or, when dealing with a final salary scheme, offer a minimum level of benefits.  The level of minimum contributions or benefits will also be phased in.