To process workplace pension files within your payroll, you first need to setup a pension scheme for your business.
There are two ways to setup a pension scheme for your business file:
- Using the PensionSync integration
- Manually setting up a pension scheme
To view our YouTube video on PensionSync Integration click here
Using the PensionSync Integration:
If you'd like to automate your pension reporting, you can use the inbuilt PensionSync integration. You can do this by following these steps:
- From your business dashboard go to 'Payroll Settings' >'Business Settings'> 'Pension Settings'
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On the Pension Schemes screen you will need to select the 'Add Pension scheme via PensionSync' button.
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Click the 'Connect to PensionSync' button.
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You will be taken to the following screen. Here you need to add the staging date by clicking on the blue pencil. You will see that the re-enrolment date defaults to 3 years post the staging or employer duties start date (whichever is earliest). You can edit this once you have entered the staging date within 3 months from the original staging date.
- Once your business file is connected to PensionSync you can click on 'Actions' > 'Import scheme from PensionSync'.
- You will now need to enter
- your pension provider
- your employer ID.
If you do not know your employer ID you will need to contact your pension provider.
Once you have entered these details click 'Link Scheme'.
- You will now need to authorise your pension scheme to be used with PensionSync. To do this, 'Click the button to launch the PensionSync authorization gateway'.
Once you've authorised the PensionSync gateway, your pension scheme information will be imported into your business file and you'll be able to start processing pensions payments for that employee. Please note that you will have the ability to maintain the pension scheme either manually or via PensionSync through the Scheme Maintenance drop down menu.
Please note that if you select to maintain the pension plan manually all fields become editable. IF the scheme changes at the provider end, when a pay run is created these details ARE NOT synchronised back to the pension plan as you have accepted the responsibility to maintain the plan yourself.
You should now confirm the pension settings and if you're happy with the settings.
You will see that you now have the option to add a contribution plan. Click the 'Add' button.
You will then see the following screen:
Plan name: You can use the name of your company.
Contribution Group ID: This can be the same as your provider ID.
Collection source : You will only see this option if your pension provider is NEST or Smart Pension and you use multiple collection sources. A drop down menu will appear to allow you to choose which payment source you would like to apply to this contribution plan. If you only use one payment source then you will not see this option.
Pension Type: Either select Net Pay or Relief at Source from the drop down menu.
Calculate pension on qualifying earnings: If you wish to calculate the pension on qualifying earnings then tick this box.
Please fill in the Employer Contribution and the Employee contribution at the correct rates.
On the lower half of this page you will see that there are Postponement Rules.
Once an employee has been assessed as an eligible job holder the employer has the right to postpone the enrolment which will defer the date the employee is enrolled in the pension scheme.
You may want to choose postponement if you have temporary employees or low earning employees that have occasional spikes in their pay that would make them eligible.
Postponement options are available in the following circumstances:
From the duties start date.
An employee’s start date.
Date employee first becomes eligible.
You can then postpone employees from enrolling into the pension scheme for up to 3 months. Once you have hit the 3 months you MUST enrol your employee if they are an eligible job holder, you cannot apply another period of postponement.
To select one or more of the postponement rules you will need to tick the checkbox under the heading/headings:
- When the employer reaches their duties start date.
This refers to employers. The legal duties for automatic enrolment begin on the day your first employee begins work, this is known as the duties' start date.
The employer duties date is currently calculated as the earliest start date of the first employee.
- When an employee joins a company.
Employees who are automatically assessed by the system are assessed within the pay run. So for most employees this rule would begin on their start date as they are usually added to pay runs from the beginning of their employment.
The system uses the employee's start date when making the postponement. So if an employee joins a company on 15th December but isn’t included in a pay run until January, the system would assess in the January pay run then enrol in the March pay run.
- When an employee reaches the age of 22.
If an employee turns 22 within a pay run, their postponement will begin from the date they turned 22.
Likewise, if there is no postponement in place, their assessment date will be the date they turned 22.
Going back to assessments only taking place in pay runs where an employee has been included. An employee who turns 22, will be postponed in the pay run their birthday falls in or, if they have been excluded from the pay run their birthday falls in, the following pay run they are included in.
- When an employee becomes eligible after initial assessment (This rule will only be run after an employee has already been assessed in a prior pay run).
This is sometimes known as postponing on pay spikes and is not a rule that applies upon an employee’s first assessment, only subsequent assessments.
If an employee has previously been assessed and deemed Non-Eligible or Entitled (this will be their initial assessment), then, during a subsequent assessment deemed Eligible, this postponement rule will be activated and the employee will be postponed for the time stated in the postponement rule set up.
Once the employee reaches the deferral date they will be assessed again. If on this first assessment after postponement they are deemed Eligible, they are automatically enrolled in the Pension Scheme.
However, if they are deemed Non-Eligible or Entitled on this assessment, they won’t be enrolled. They will continue to be assessed and if, at a later date, they then earn enough to trigger enrolment (currently £192), this postponement rule will come into force again.
There is no limit to the number of times this rule can be used but there must be at least one non-eligible or Entitled assessment after the postponement ends. But, if an employee is assessed and deemed eligible in 2 consecutive assessments the system will enrol the employee.
When you are happy with the information press save.
If none of the rules against the pension scheme are quite what you’re after you can always set a postponement date against your individual employee.
To apply go to your Employee Details > Pension Settings.
Select the option ‘Postpone until the following date’ and enter the deferral date.
Then press save.
Tip: You can have a mixture of employees with individual deferral dates and employees using scheme postponement rules.
Once you have saved the scheme you will then be able to assign that pension to an employee in the employees pension settings.
You can add multiple Contribution Plans by clicking on the add button as described above after you have saved your first plan and filling in the details appropriately.
When you create a pay run, your employees will be assessed and postponement will be applied to any employees that meet the postponement rule requirements.
Once you have finalised the pay run postponement letters will be created to send to the employees.
When the deferral date comes around, employees will be assessed in the pay run and if required enrolled into the pension scheme.
Common PensionSync questions:
What happens if you don't want to use PensionSync after connecting?
You don't have to do anything. Having a connection to PensionSync doesn't prevent you from manually setting up a scheme.
What if I manually setup a scheme and then want to link it to PensionSync at a later date?
No problem, you can connect to PensionSync at any time and once you've connected, you can link a manual scheme to PensionSync by clicking on the pension scheme and clicking the 'Link to PensionSync' button for that scheme