Have you used the transitional period for DB schemes for auto enrolment?
25 August 2017
The transitional period for DB (defined benefit) schemes is ending on 30 September. The Pensions Regulator has guidance detailing what employers and clients will need to do to comply with the law.
Pension schemes with defined benefits are mainly used by large employers and some employers in the public sector, and are sometimes also known as 'final salary' or 'career average' schemes. The transitional period applies to staff who are entitled to join a workplace pension scheme with defined benefits. When the transitional period ends, workers that were covered by it must be assessed and put into the pension scheme with defined benefits if they need to be automatically enrolled.
Some employers may also have chosen to apply the transitional period to staff who were already in their pension scheme with defined benefits on their staging date.
If you are unsure whether you used the transitional period, you can check:
- payroll software
- staff records to see the letters written to staff telling them they were applying the transitional period to these workers
- the acknowledgement of their declaration of compliance that TPR sent out to you
If you or your clients have applied the transitional period, you will both need to take action to comply with the law. Read the new guidance on TPR’s website to find out what you will need to do, and when.