Understanding How Your Pension May Be Managed in Your Portal

Why Your Pension Experience May Differ

When you log into the portal, the pension information, communications, and actions available to you may vary depending on how your employer manages pensions.

Employers can choose different approaches to pension administration, which means employees may see different pension statuses, options, and notifications within the portal.

This guide provides an overview of the pension management approaches that may be used by your employer and explains how they can affect your experience, including postponement, automatic enrolment, opting in, opting out, and ceasing membership.

Pension Managed as a Flexible Benefit

In this scenario, pensions are treated as a standard flexible benefit, rather than part of an auto enrolment process.

How it works

• Pension choices are managed through a benefit selections process.
• Joining, leaving, or changing contributions is handled in the same way as other workplace benefits.

What you might see in the portal

• Your pension displayed within the My Benefits section.
• During an open enrolment window, and where permitted by your employer, the ability to adjust pension contributions.
• Automatic enrolment into the pension scheme without needing to actively select the benefit.
• The ability to cease membership during an enrolment window, where your employer's setup allows this.
• No automatic enrolment status updates.

Important notes

• There is no automatic enrolment assessment process.
• Statutory automatic enrolment communications are not generated through the portal unless your employer provides them separately.
• Pension participation and contribution changes are managed through benefit selections and employer processes.
• Opting out, opting in, or ceasing membership may be managed outside the portal through your pension provider, HR team, or Benefits team.
• Cyclical re-enrolment is not performed automatically and will be managed separately if required.

Auto Enrolment with Full Assessment

Under this approach, the system automatically assesses pension eligibility based on information provided by your employer.

How it works

The assessment considers factors such as:

• Earnings (qualifying earnings)
• Age
• State Pension Age
• Earnings thresholds

Based on these criteria, the system places employees into one of the following categories:

• Eligible Jobholder – Normally enrolled automatically.
• Non-Eligible Jobholder – May be eligible to opt in.
• Entitled Worker – May be able to join without employer contributions.
• Worker – Categorised according to eligibility rules but may not require immediate action.

What you might see in the portal

• A My Pension section on the homepage.

• Automatic enrolment notifications
• Postponement notifications
• Options to opt out after enrolment

• Options to opt in where applicable.

• Updates relating to ceased membership.

Important notes

• Eligibility assessments are performed automatically.
• Your employer does not need to manually create pension records for each employee.
• You may be reassessed during cyclical re-enrolment, typically every three years.
• If you previously left the pension scheme, you may be re-enrolled following reassessment.

Auto Enrolment With Communications Only

In this setup, the system sends pension communications, but does not automatically assess eligibility.

How it works

Your employer manually creates records for:

• Assessment
• Postponement
• Enrolment

Once these records are created, the system automatically sends the relevant communications to you.

What you might see in the portal

• A My Pension section on the homepage.

• Pension status updates based on employer-entered data.
• An option to opt out after enrolment, where your employer allows this through the portal. Otherwise, you may need to contact your pension provider or your HR/Benefits team, as outlined in your pension details.

• The ability to adjust pension contributions during enrolment windows, where permitted.

Important notes

• Enrolment decisions are entered manually by your employer.
• The information displayed depends on the accuracy of the data provided.
• Timing of updates may affect what appears in the portal.
• Cyclical re-enrolment is managed manually rather than automatically.

Pension Managed Outside the Portal

In some cases, your pension may be handled entirely outside of this system.

What this means for you

• Pension information may not be displayed in the portal.
• Communications may come directly from your employer or pension provider.
• Joining, opting out, contribution changes, and other pension actions are managed outside the system.

Key Pension Terms

• Postponement: A temporary delay before pension assessment or enrolment takes place.
• Automatic Enrolment: Being enrolled into a workplace pension scheme automatically based on eligibility criteria.
• Opting Out: Leaving a pension scheme shortly after automatic enrolment.
• Opting In: Requesting to join a pension scheme when you have not been automatically enrolled.
• Ceasing Membership: Stopping pension membership after previously being an active member.

Key Things to Remember

• Your pension experience depends on how your employer manages pensions.
• Not all employees will see the same pension information or options.
• Some pension actions may be completed in the portal, while others may need to be managed through your pension provider, HR team, or Benefits team.
• If you are unsure about your pension status, refer to your latest pension communication or contact your HR, Payroll, or Benefits team.

This guide should help you understand why your portal may look different from a colleague’s and what actions, if any, you may need to take.