Employer late paying pension contributions
Discussion
My understanding is employers must pay pension contributions by the 22nd of the month after they were deducted from an employee's salary.
Unfortunately, there is no rhyme or reason as to when my contributions hit my account, and sometimes, I have two months of contributions land simultaneously.
I don’t think it’s a cashflow issue as I see the reporting on revenue and costs, etc. Is payroll just rubbish? Surely this should be automated/direct debit?
In any case, is there anything I can do to “encourage” them to meet their obligations?
Furthermore, wouldn’t it be simpler for pension providers (Peoples Pension) to notify the pensions regulator if they receive consistently late contributions?
If it matters, I work for a large multinational.
Unfortunately, there is no rhyme or reason as to when my contributions hit my account, and sometimes, I have two months of contributions land simultaneously.
I don’t think it’s a cashflow issue as I see the reporting on revenue and costs, etc. Is payroll just rubbish? Surely this should be automated/direct debit?
In any case, is there anything I can do to “encourage” them to meet their obligations?
Furthermore, wouldn’t it be simpler for pension providers (Peoples Pension) to notify the pensions regulator if they receive consistently late contributions?
If it matters, I work for a large multinational.
3xAAA said:
My understanding is employers must pay pension contributions by the 22nd of the month after they were deducted from an employee's salary.
…..
If it matters, I work for a large multinational.
What drives the date of the 22nd?…..
If it matters, I work for a large multinational.
In my experience (of large companies), the pension contributions land way after the payslip and they seem to just rely on people not checking / complaining…
In my last company, they seemed to be 2-3 months “late” which was annoying but there didn’t seem to be much I could do about it…
22nd of month following the payroll deduction is set by the Pensions Regulator.
https://www.thepensionsregulator.gov.uk/en/employe...
If your employer is not hitting that deadline, I would bring it up with your HR/payroll team. It’s the law.
https://www.thepensionsregulator.gov.uk/en/employe...
If your employer is not hitting that deadline, I would bring it up with your HR/payroll team. It’s the law.
I had a similar issue. My pension app would show a missing month then a double contribution, etc. I had a gap of about 5 months where it looked like there were no contributions. It turned out that my employer had been paying consistently but the pension provider hadn't indexed the fund properly so my app wasn't capturing the payments. All resolved now.
Is it definitely the contributions not being paid on time, or the app not being updated properly? Have you checked with your company payroll/finance team?
Is it definitely the contributions not being paid on time, or the app not being updated properly? Have you checked with your company payroll/finance team?
After running each payroll, your employer should be uploading (manually or automatically) a contribution data file to People's Pension with details of the 'employer' and 'employee' contributions for the pay period for all employees.
People's Pension then collect the combined amount for all contributions by direct debit and apportion them according.
It could be that the data files are done manually and the company are being a bit dilatory about it. Or there are issues with the uploads which are causing delays. More likely that than anything sinister I expect.
People's Pension then collect the combined amount for all contributions by direct debit and apportion them according.
It could be that the data files are done manually and the company are being a bit dilatory about it. Or there are issues with the uploads which are causing delays. More likely that than anything sinister I expect.
I had similar issues a few years ago.
I eventually found it was the pension provider at fault, taking an extraordinary length of time to allocate funds. Thankfully our company stopped using them and everything was transferred to another provider. I don't think the provider exists anymore.
Basically, don't assume it is your employer.
I eventually found it was the pension provider at fault, taking an extraordinary length of time to allocate funds. Thankfully our company stopped using them and everything was transferred to another provider. I don't think the provider exists anymore.
Basically, don't assume it is your employer.
I had this. I was trying to manage my contributions to avoid £40k cap/year (as it was then) and my employer/peoples pension were b***cksing it up to manage to go over in a year. This leads to me wasting hours on the phone to hmrc trying to sort it. Some employers/pension firms are just crap. At least it is £60k/year now - until next labour govt reduce it anyway.
The office of The Pensions Ombudsman (TPO) has investigated loads of formal complaints relating to the late or non payment of contributions. These could be employees contributions deducted from pay but not paid to the pension provider, non payment of employer contributions, late payment etc. Payment must be made by the 22nd of the month following the deduction in order to comply with legislation.
The way to proceed where there is evidence of non or late payment is as follows:
1. Raise the matter informally with the employer, see what they say, and if there's evidence, ask what the employer proposes to do to resolve the issue. I suspect that the OP has done this already.
2. If the employer does nothing, raise a formal complaint using the formal dispute resolution procedure that all occupational schemes are legally required to have in place. This will be mentioned in the scheme leaflet etc and a copy available via the employer.
3. If that does not resolve matters, contact the office of the TPO and tell them about the problem, the action you have taken, and the latest position ie not resolved. Here's where you start. https://www.pensions-ombudsman.org.uk
4. TPO's office will try to resolve the issue through direct negotiation with the employer.
5. If the informal approach does not work, the matter will go to adjudication within TPO's office, and a formal decision made. Usually, this will lead to an instruction to the employer to make good the non payment of contributions, and be responsible for the loss of any investment return.
6. If the adjudication process does not work, TPO himself will investigated and make a formal determination. This will be similar to what the adjudicator has said BUT with the addition of a redress payment (typically £500-£1000) to be paid by the employer to the employee. Note that the determinations made by TPO have the force of law, and if employer still fails to do anything (unlikely) he can be pursued through the Courts.
Note that TPO's services are free, so don't take the issue to a solicitor because fees will be incurred.
Do not take the complaint to The Pensions Regulator. They do not investigate pension complaints. TPO's office may raise particular circumstances with the Regulator if he so decides.
R.
The way to proceed where there is evidence of non or late payment is as follows:
1. Raise the matter informally with the employer, see what they say, and if there's evidence, ask what the employer proposes to do to resolve the issue. I suspect that the OP has done this already.
2. If the employer does nothing, raise a formal complaint using the formal dispute resolution procedure that all occupational schemes are legally required to have in place. This will be mentioned in the scheme leaflet etc and a copy available via the employer.
3. If that does not resolve matters, contact the office of the TPO and tell them about the problem, the action you have taken, and the latest position ie not resolved. Here's where you start. https://www.pensions-ombudsman.org.uk
4. TPO's office will try to resolve the issue through direct negotiation with the employer.
5. If the informal approach does not work, the matter will go to adjudication within TPO's office, and a formal decision made. Usually, this will lead to an instruction to the employer to make good the non payment of contributions, and be responsible for the loss of any investment return.
6. If the adjudication process does not work, TPO himself will investigated and make a formal determination. This will be similar to what the adjudicator has said BUT with the addition of a redress payment (typically £500-£1000) to be paid by the employer to the employee. Note that the determinations made by TPO have the force of law, and if employer still fails to do anything (unlikely) he can be pursued through the Courts.
Note that TPO's services are free, so don't take the issue to a solicitor because fees will be incurred.
Do not take the complaint to The Pensions Regulator. They do not investigate pension complaints. TPO's office may raise particular circumstances with the Regulator if he so decides.
R.
If it happens once ina blue moon it’s probably just a payroll error on the part of your company or the payroll provider they use.
22nd of the following month is the latest they can do it but you can set the date of payment earlier.
It could just be a quirk of the payroll software, one I’ve used asks you to submit the amount, check the amount has been sent then approve the payment and then check the payment has been approved. It could just be the person doing this has got interrupted (happens a lot with payroll/accounts) and even more likely with a newer employee. If the payment does happen to get missed because of something like this then they will get a reminder and then will have to manually log in and submit it. So in all likelyhood it’s not being done on purpose as creates a bigger faff to correct afterwards
22nd of the following month is the latest they can do it but you can set the date of payment earlier.
It could just be a quirk of the payroll software, one I’ve used asks you to submit the amount, check the amount has been sent then approve the payment and then check the payment has been approved. It could just be the person doing this has got interrupted (happens a lot with payroll/accounts) and even more likely with a newer employee. If the payment does happen to get missed because of something like this then they will get a reminder and then will have to manually log in and submit it. So in all likelyhood it’s not being done on purpose as creates a bigger faff to correct afterwards
Jawls said:
22nd of month following the payroll deduction is set by the Pensions Regulator.
https://www.thepensionsregulator.gov.uk/en/employe...
If your employer is not hitting that deadline, I would bring it up with your HR/payroll team. It’s the law.
The pension regulator is a waste of time, my ex employer stopped passing on my contributions for over 18 months. https://www.thepensionsregulator.gov.uk/en/employe...
If your employer is not hitting that deadline, I would bring it up with your HR/payroll team. It’s the law.
All the regulator would do is send a letter once a month.
Until the company went bust, and looks unlikely i will get the £10K+ of contributions back.
Mine is sporadic but it seems to be Aviva rather than my company. We get paid on the 25th and it seems to go to Aviva by the end of the month but when it actually goes into my funds is driven by a random number generator. Usually in the first 7 days of the month but this month it was the 16th and back I'm May it was the 22nd!
That's nearly a whole month where my money has been earning someone else interest when it's mine.
That's nearly a whole month where my money has been earning someone else interest when it's mine.
V8 Stang said:
Jawls said:
22nd of month following the payroll deduction is set by the Pensions Regulator.
https://www.thepensionsregulator.gov.uk/en/employe...
If your employer is not hitting that deadline, I would bring it up with your HR/payroll team. It’s the law.
The pension regulator is a waste of time, my ex employer stopped passing on my contributions for over 18 months. https://www.thepensionsregulator.gov.uk/en/employe...
If your employer is not hitting that deadline, I would bring it up with your HR/payroll team. It’s the law.
All the regulator would do is send a letter once a month.
Until the company went bust, and looks unlikely i will get the £10K+ of contributions back.
But in plenty of cases, HR teams are just clueless and mistakes happen.
V8 Stang said:
The pension regulator is a waste of time, my ex employer stopped passing on my contributions for over 18 months.
All the regulator would do is send a letter once a month.
Until the company went bust, and looks unlikely i will get the £10K+ of contributions back.
TPR is not a waste of time. Simply put, you went about things the wrong way if you complained via TPR. See my post above about TPO. And if it less than 3 years since you became aware of the law breaking by your employer you can raise the matter via TPO. With £10,000 at stake, I am surprised that you don't seem to have done much about getting it back. Have you raised the matter with the party dealing with winding the "bust" employer?All the regulator would do is send a letter once a month.
Until the company went bust, and looks unlikely i will get the £10K+ of contributions back.
You have nothing to lose by contacting TPO now, and they should help you through the complaint procedure etc.
R.
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