Pensions and Auto-Enrolment (Workplace Pensions)

Every employer with at least one member of staff now has a responsibility for putting those who meet certain criteria into a workplace pension scheme and contributing towards it. This includes those who employ Personal Assistants (PAs).

This process is called automatic enrolment. This is because it is automatic for staff – they do not have to do anything to be enrolled into the pension scheme. They can choose to opt-out. However, it is not automatic for a PA Employer and there are several things that you will have to do to set this up for your PAs.

As a PA Employer you will need to:

tell your PA(s) about pension auto-enrolment
check whether they’re eligible
if they are eligible, set up a pension, enrol them and make the correct contributions.

You will also need to complete an online form to declare your compliance with the rules.

Where can I get help to set up a pension for my PA(s)?

Many PA Employers choose to use a payroll service to manage wages, tax and National Insurance payments for their PAs.

Many payroll services can also help you set up pension schemes for your PAs. You can find out more about payroll services in the Resources section at the bottom of this page.

The Pensions Regulator (which is in charge of auto-enrolment) also has lots of help available for employers to guide and support you through the process.

What criteria must a PA meet to be auto-enrolled?

The rules say that a PA Employer must automatically enrol all staff who on their start date are:

aged between 22 and state pension age, and
are working under a contract of employment and
have ‘qualifying earnings’ of over £10,000 a year (the limit will be frozen at £10,000 for the foreseeable future).

On the first day a PA starts working for the PA Employer (known as their duties start date), the PA Employer should formally assess them to see if they meet the criteria to be put into a pension scheme.

Can a PA Employer postpone auto-enrolment?

It is possible for an employer to legitimately postpone assessing an employee for auto-enrolment purposes for up to three months. If the PA Employer wishes to postpone their staff, they must write to their PAs individually (within six weeks) to explain this.