Types of workplace pension arrangements

The auto-enrolment regime, which was introduced in October 2012, requires employers to enrol all eligible jobholders automatically into a qualifying pension scheme (and enrol all non-eligible jobholders who opt in) and to pay a minimum level of employer contributions on behalf of those jobholders. The duty was phased in gradually from 1 October 2012, and started with the largest employers. For further information, see Practice Note: Auto-enrolment—an introduction.

The obligation on employers to designate and facilitate access to a stakeholder pension scheme (as set out in the Welfare Reform and Pensions Act (WRPA) 1999, s 3) ceased to apply from 1 October 2012, when the obligation to enrol workers automatically into a qualifying scheme came into effect (PenA 2008, ss 87, 148–9 and SI 2012/2480).

Whether to comply with legal obligations or out of a concern to offer a competitive benefit package to their workers or executives, employers will need to think about what types of pension benefits they will offer.

Types of pension arrangements for employees

Employees may contribute to more than one pension scheme or arrangement, but

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