Opt Out of a Qualifying Pension Scheme

An eligible jobholder can opt out of a qualifying pension scheme into which they were automatically enrolled. A non-eligible jobholder can opt out of a qualifying scheme for which they previously opted in.

Opting out must occur within the opt-out period. After that date, an employee must leave, rather than opt out, of a scheme.

Note: An employee who was manually enrolled in a qualifying scheme must leave, rather than opt out, of the qualifying scheme.

Before you Start

Make sure that:

• The employee is currently enrolled in a qualifying scheme (either by automatic enrolment or by opting in).

• The opt-out period end date hasn't yet been reached.

Update the Pensions Automatic Enrolment Card for the Opt-Out Action

Opting out involves updating the employee's Pensions Automatic Enrolment calculation card as summarized here:

1. Use the Calculation Cards task to open the employee's pensions calculation card for editing.

2. Complete the fields in the component details section as shown here:

   Field	Value
   Reason for Leaving Qualifying Scheme	Opt out
   Qualifying Scheme Leaving Date	Opt-out date
   Effective Start Date	Date should be the same as the qualifying scheme leaving date to avoid incorrect pension assessments in future processing.

3. Save the calculation card.

4. Run the Pensions Automatic Enrolment Assessment Multiple Update process.

   The process end dates the employee's Benefits and Pensions card and removes the qualifying scheme details from the pensions card. The employee's classification for pensions remains unchanged.

   These are the assessor values that are updated:

   Field	Action
   Leaving Scheme Processed Date	The date of leaving the scheme
   Qualifying Scheme Component	This is deleted.