This notice will be of interest to:
1. EPN405 set out the suggested pension arrangements for employees who are in scope for automatic enrolment, but not eligible to participate in the Civil Service pension scheme. This EPN contains additional advice on the pension schemes available for those employees.
2. EPN405 suggested using NEST as the pension provider in these circumstances. From 01 November 2018, there is also the option of using the Defined Contribution scheme provided by Legal and General (L&G). There are therefore now two suggested options for enrolling those that are eligible into a scheme (or offering them the chance to join one):
3. The preferred approach for new employees is the Defined Contribution scheme provided by L&G. However, the decision on which scheme is the most appropriate will be determined by any deadline for compliance that has been set by The Pensions Regulator (TPR).
4. Access to the scheme can take two months to arrange, where the employer is already participating in a different section of the Master Trust, and three months if departments are looking to participate for the first time. Therefore, if departments have not already made arrangements to join, it may not be possible to do so before the deadline set and will leave NEST as a more appropriate option.
5. Departments who already have existing NEST (or other pension provider) members should set up an L&G scheme for new appointments and they may wish to consider moving the future contributions of existing NEST (or other pension provider) members to the L&G scheme, once they are registered with the L&G scheme.
6. Participation in the L&G scheme must be pre-agreed and final arrangements made before any contributions are run through payroll. Contributions cannot be debited before or during the registration process as it could lead to a breach of Pension Regulator requirements for the time between contributions being taken and being received into a member’s pension account.
7. Departments wishing to register with the L&G scheme can find the process to follow and the employer request form on the Civil Service Pensions website.
8. The following templates and documents may also be useful:
If you have a question about the distribution of EPNs or you need to receive them in a different format contact employerpensionnotice@cabinetoffice.gov.uk
You can find electronic copies of the Employers’ Pension Guide, all current EPNs and forms on our website www.civilservicepensionscheme.org.uk under ‘Employers’.
This notice is for employers and should not be issued to scheme members.
If members have a question about their pension they can find information at: