Pensions

Auto Enrolment Pension Schemes

The Government set up an initiative in 2016 requiring all employers to enrol their employees into an Employer pension scheme.

It’s called “Automatic Enrolment” and is meant to encourage people to save for retirement.

We have selected NEST, the government sponsored organisation, as our scheme provider. If eligible, you will be Automatically Enrolled if you :

earn over £10,000 a year ( £833 per month or £192 per week ); and
are 22 or over; and
are under the state pension age; and
work or ordinarily work in the UK.

NB. the above auto enrolment “trigger” earnings figure may change in April each year.

We intend to use a three-month postponement period your auto enrolment status will be assessed at the end of the postponement period, on what is called the “Deferral Date”. For any new employees, your Deferral Date will be three months after your employment starts.

If you don’t meet the criteria on your Deferral Date, you won’t automatically become a member of the scheme but we will enrol you once you do meet them. Your status will be assessed every month, in case you turn 22 and/or your earnings exceed the trigger amount. We will let you know when we have enrolled you.

If you don’t meet the relevant criteria to be enrolled automatically, you can ask to join the scheme at any time (though please note that there are limits as to how soon you can re-join a scheme if you have recently opted out of it).

Once you are enrolled, you put money into your pension fund each month directly from your pay. If you earn over £112 a week (£486 a month) (based on 2015/16 limits), the minimum amount you must put into the scheme initially is 0.8% of your pensionable earnings. The Government will also contribute to your pension fund through tax relief. KiddyKare Ltd will contribute 1% to your pension fund from when you are enrolled until you cease working for us or if you “Opt Out”.

“Opting out” has a special meaning for auto enrolment. If you opt out within one month of being enrolled, any contributions you have paid will be refunded through your pay. Broadly, you will have one month from when you receive your welcome pack from NEST. If you choose to opt out after that, contributions will cease but amounts paid to date will not be refunded – they will remain in your pension pot.

Please note that the pages on this website are not intended to give you pensions advice. If in doubt, you should consult an independent financial adviser or one of the free services available.

More information

The pensions regulator

Workplace pensions

Your pension questions answered

How does auto enrolment affect me?

This depends on how old you are and how much you earn.

1. If on your Deferral date (usually three months from starting to work for us or from 1st September 2016 if you are employed on that date) you are aged 22 or over, under State Pension age, work or usually work in the UK, and earn more than £10,000 a year (£833 a month) we will enrol you into our pension scheme automatically:

you can”opt out”, but if you stay in you will have your own fund for when you retire
you, KiddyKare, and the Government will pay into it every month
your pension belongs to you, even if you leave us in the future

Nearer the time, you will receive further information on the scheme.

2. If on your Deferral date you are over 16 (but under 75), and earn between £5,824 a year (£486 a month) (based on 2015/16 rates) and £10,000 a year (£833 a month):

We will not automatically enrol you into the scheme as you do not meet the full criteria, but you have the right to opt in to the scheme if you want to. Once enrolled you, KiddyKare and the Government will pay into it.

3. If your Deferral date you are over 16, under 75 and earn £5,824 or less a year (£486 / month) we will not automatically enrol you into the scheme as you do not meet the criteria. However, if you ask us to do so, we will enrol you into the scheme. KiddyKare would not contribute to this pension as you do not earn over £5,824 a year. (This is the level set by the government for 2015/16 and may be subject to change. Employers only have to contribute to workers’ pensions if they earn over this amount). You will then need to make arrangements to pay whatever contributions you wish to make with NEST.

What do I need to do now?

You are not obliged to do anything. If you meet the relevant criteria on your Deferral Date we will enrol you automatically but it would be helpful if you would fill in the form below just to give us an indication of your interest.

I am under 22. If I don't join the scheme now, what happens when I reach 22?

If you are earning more than the auto enrolment trigger (currently £10,000 a year, £833 a month, £192 a week) when you reach 22, you will be automatically enrolled into our pension scheme from your Deferral Date. We will write to you at the time with all the information you need.

You can choose to opt out of the scheme, but if you stay in you will have your own pension for when you retire. KiddyKare and you will pay into it every month. The money in your pension is yours even if you leave us.

I don't earn more than £10,000 a year (£833 a month, £192 a week) at present, but if I earn more in the future, what will happen?

Once you do earn more than the auto enrolment trigger (currently £833 a month, £192 a week), you will be automatically enrolled into our workplace pension scheme from your Deferral Date, so long as you are aged 22 or over, are under State Pension age, and work or usually work in the UK.

If this happens, we will write to you again to give you more information about the scheme. You can opt out of the scheme if you want to, but if you stay in you will have your own pension which you get when you retire.

The money in your pension is still yours even if you leave us. If you are under 22 or over State Pension age when you earn more than £833 a month, you will not be automatically enrolled, but you will have the right to join if you want.

I don't earn more than £10,000 a year (£833 a month), if I earn more in the future, what will happen?

If you start to earn more than £486 a month but not more than £833 a month, you will not be automatically enrolled but you will have the right to join our workplace pension scheme if you want.

KiddyKare and you will pay into it every month. The money in your pension is still yours, even if you leave us.

What is an auto enrolment pension scheme?

Auto enrolment was set up to encourage saving for retirement.
A Pension fund is a tax efficient way of saving for retirement, but most cannot access the fund until they are 55 years old (this will change to 57 in due course).
Subject to the rules, you, your employer and the Government will pay into a pension pot in your name which you can take when you reach 55 (57 later).
The minimum that must be paid in from the start is 2% of your pensionable earnings (that is income between £5,824 and £42,385 per year) until September 2017, of which an employer’s minimum is 1%. In October 2017 the minimum figure goes up to 5%, of which an employer’s minimum is 2%. From October 2018 the minimum will be 8%, of which an employer’s minimum is 3%. You can put more in if you wish.
The Government usually contributes to your pension through tax relief – they top up what you pay in (so that some of your money that goes to the Government as tax, goes into your pension instead).
On your payslip, you will see the contributions that you make. You won’t see the tax relief because the amount you pay in net of basic rate tax. That tax is added to your pension separately.

You may be able to increase the amount you put in personally, subject to certain limits. If you do, the amount contributed by Government in tax relief would also increase. The Government’s contribution is currently 25% of whatever you pay in. The KiddyKare contribution would remain unchanged though.

You may also be able to transfer in any other pensions you may have.

You will receive a statement from the provider once a year showing how much went into your pension, what it is worth and how well it is doing. If you need advice on the scheme you consult an independent adviser or one of the free services available.

EXAMPLE (all figures are subject to change)

For someone earning £10,000 per year, the estimated annual contributions payable in the three years to 30th September 2019 would be:

Minimum Contribution : Employee : 0.8% x ( 10,000 – 5,824 ) = 0.8% of £4,176, = £33.40, rising to £100.20 from 1/10/17 and to £167.00 from 1/10/18, a total of £300.60

Minimum Contribution : KiddyKare : 1% x ( 10,000 – 5,824 ) = 1% of £4,176, = £41.76, rising to £83.52 from 1/10/17 and to £125.28 from 1/10/18, a total of £250.56.

Government Contrib ( Tax relief ): 25% of employee’s net contributions = £75.15

TOTAL £626.31

Remember, of the Total of £626.31, £300.60 would be paid by you, £325.71 is free money !

Register Your Interest

Auto Enrolment Pension Scheme Questionnaire

Full Name* :

Email Address* :

Date of Birth* (dd/mm/yyyy) :

Estimated Retirement age* :

I understand that I will be automatically enrolled into KiddyKare's scheme once I meet the necessary auto enrolment criteria, and after the end of any relevant postponement period, whether that period starts on KiddyKare's Staging Date or sometime in the future.

I understand that if I "opt out", I:

1. will have to do so by contacting NEST direct.
2. will be able to rejoin the scheme at a later date, subject to the auto enrolment rules.
3. will be "Automatically Enrolled" every 3 years from the anniversary of KiddyKare's Stage Date of 1st September 2016 and could then "opt out" again if I wish.

Once I have been enrolled, my initial intention, which may change in the future, is that I will:

Choose to "Opt Out"Remain Enrolled

If I remain enrolled, I will:

Contribute just the minimum percentage % per month myselfpay in an extra amount per month on top myself