We’ve put together answers to some of the most asked questions about auto enrolment.
What’s in this guide
- I’m self-employed. Does automatic enrolment apply to me?
- I’m the only director and employee of a limited company. How does automatic enrolment affect me?
- I am on a zero-hours contract. How will I be treated?
- I didn’t qualify for automatic enrolment because I didn’t earn enough. But I’ve had a pay rise backdated which makes me eligible for automatic enrolment. Should my membership be backdated in line with my backdated pay rise?
- My employer didn’t enrol me and has now gone into administration. Am I entitled to pension contributions?
- How is maternity or paternity pay treated?
- What is re-enrolment?
- Will I get tax relief on my contributions?
- I can’t afford my 5% contributions. Can I choose to reduce my contributions?
I’m self-employed. Does automatic enrolment apply to me?
If you’re self-employed, you’re not required by law to enrol yourself into a workplace pension. But it's a good idea to think about what income you’ll have to live on when you retire.
You might want to plan for your later life if you haven’t already – for example, starting a pension scheme.
You could choose a:
These are all available from a variety of pension providers.
You might also decide to join NEST (the National Employment Savings Trust) – an independent body set up by government to provide a pension scheme.
Find out more in our guide Pensions for self-employed people
Need more information on pensions?
Call us free on 0800 011 3797 or use our webchatOpens in a new window. One of our pension specialists will be happy to answer your questions.
Our help is impartial and free to use, whether that’s online or over the phone.
Opening times: Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm. Closed on bank holidays.
I’m the only director and employee of a limited company. How does automatic enrolment affect me?
You’re one of the few classes of worker who don’t have to be automatically enrolled into a workplace pension scheme. But you can still decide to set one up if you want.
It’s important to think about what income you’ll have to live on when you retire – and whether you need to start, or increase, retirement savings.
I am on a zero-hours contract. How will I be treated?
You’ll be automatically enrolled in the same way as other workers if you earn more than:
- £192 a week
- £833 a month or
- £10,000 a year.
(2023/24 figures)
You need to also meet the other joining conditions.
I didn’t qualify for automatic enrolment because I didn’t earn enough. But I’ve had a pay rise backdated which makes me eligible for automatic enrolment. Should my membership be backdated in line with my backdated pay rise?
If you received a backdated pay rise that takes you over the £192 a week or £833 a month earnings threshold amounts then you should be automatically enrolled when you receive the pay rise – provided you meet the other joining conditions.
Your first contribution should be higher than later ones, to reflect the backdated pay rise.
My employer didn’t enrol me and has now gone into administration. Am I entitled to pension contributions?
If your employer goes into administration, an insolvency practitioner is usually appointed to sort things out. They should work with the pension scheme providers to identify pension contributions due to be paid.
They should then submit a claim to the government’s ‘National Insurance Fund’ for payment of your pension contributions. Only unpaid contributions in the 12 months leading up to when your employer went into administration can be claimed.
You might want to contact your employer’s insolvency practitioner to make sure this is being done.
You can also contact the Pensions Regulator and report your employer’s unpaid contributions by phone on 0345 600 7060, email on [email protected] or using their online whistleblowing formOpens in a new window
What if my employer did not automatically enrol me onto a workplace pension?
If you were eligible to join your employer’s workplace pension scheme but for some reason they did not automatically enrol you, then contact the Pensions Regulator as soon as possible.
Contact the Pensions Regulator by phone on 0345 600 7060, email on [email protected] or using their online whistleblowing formOpens in a new window
How is maternity or paternity pay treated?
If you’re receiving maternity or paternity pay, you’ll be assessed on the basis of your pre-maternity pay.
If you earn more than £192 a week or £833 a month – and meet the other joining conditions – you’ll be automatically enrolled.
What is re-enrolment?
Around every three years your employer has to re-enrol any eligible workers, who have previously opted out, into an automatic enrolment pension scheme. Re-enrolment at the chosen date is essentially the same as enrolment at your employer’s staging date.
Your employer can’t use postponement. This is when they can delay putting you into a pension scheme for up to three months.
They must arrange for qualifying pension scheme membership to start from the re-enrolment date.
You can still opt out if you don’t want to become a member.
Will I get tax relief on my contributions?
Generally, if you're an employee who earns more than the standard personal allowance £12,570 in the tax year 2023/24), you’ll receive tax relief on your contributions.
You’ll need to check with your scheme how this works for you and if you need to do anything to claim all the tax relief you’re entitled to.
If you earn less than the standard personal allowance and so don’t pay tax, then you won’t get receive tax relief if your employer operates a ‘net pay’ scheme.
If your workplace scheme operates under ‘relief at source’ – you’ll receive basic (20%) tax relief on your contributions. This is regardless of your level of pay.
If you’re affected by this, you can check with your employer what type of scheme they offer and if they would be willing to change to a relief at source scheme.
Be aware that your employer has to use the same method for all employees in the scheme.
Find out more in our guide Tax relief on pension contributions
I can’t afford my 5% contributions. Can I choose to reduce my contributions?
This depends on your individual arrangement, so you’ll need to discuss this with your employer.
If you’re able to reduce your contributions and the total contributions fall below 8% – you’ll no longer be in a qualifying automatic enrolment scheme.
This will trigger the re-enrolment process.
This means your employer has to automatically re-enrol you if you're an eligible worker. This happens approximately every three years if you’re not a member of a qualifying scheme.
