The auto-enrolment solution for Northern Ireland

Employer FAQs

What is my EPSR (Employer Pension Scheme Reference)?

Employers who have transferred from Enhance Construction Pension Scheme to Workers Pension Trust have a 6 digit EPSR followed by /1 e.g. 123456/1

What is the PSR (Pension Scheme Registration) Number?

Workers Pension Trust’s PSR number is 12007171.

Are contributions paid on the ‘Net Pay arrangement’ or ‘Relief at Source’?

Workers Pension uses the Net Pay arrangement for tax relief. This means that you deduct employee contributions before any tax is taken.

For example, Alex pays 20% tax. £10 goes from his wages into his pension pot, before any tax is taken. This reduces his taxable earnings by £10 and he pays £2 less in income tax. This means he has received £2 tax relief from the government. His take home pay is reduced by £8 but £10 has gone into his pension pot. Please note that any employees earning less than £12,570 (from April 2023) won’t receive tax relief because they don’t earn enough to pay tax.

Can employees and/or employers pay more than the legal minimum contribution?

Yes, paying additional contributions allows your staff to make better provision for their retirement. Members and/or employers may contribute more than the minimum percentages required by auto-enrolment. If you and/or your staff are interested in paying additional contributions, download and complete the Contribution Change Form and return it to the Scheme. You will also need to amend your payroll to reflect the change.

What is Salary Sacrifice?

Employers may offer the option of salary sacrifice to employees enrolled in the Scheme. Salary sacrifice is an agreement between the employer and the employee whereby the employee gives up part of their salary (their ‘sacrifice’), which the employer then pays into the pension scheme, along with their own employer contribution to the scheme. Once an employee accepts a salary sacrifice arrangement, their overall pay is lower, so they pay less tax and National Insurance. In addition, the employer will not have to pay their employers’ National Insurance contributions on the part the employee has ‘sacrificed’.

What contributions am I required to pay?

The minimum levels of pension contribution are shown in the table below:

Date of Introduction December 2016
Employer Contribution 4%   (or £10.24 per week, whichever is higher)
Employee Contribution 5%   (includes basic rate tax relief)
Total Contribution 9%

The employer also makes a contribution of £2.56 per employee per week towards lump sum death in service cover for each employee.

Contributions are kept under review by the Joint Council for the Building & Civil Engineering Industry (Northern Ireland) and are subject to change.

Changes from 5 December 2016

The Joint Council for the Building & Civil Engineering Industry agreed that from 5 December 2016 employees who do not contribute to the Enhance Construction Pension Scheme will no longer receive an employer contribution. 

If employees do not want to contribute do I still have to pay contributions for them?

The Joint Council for the Building & Civil Engineering Industry agreed that from 5 December 2016 employees who do not contribute to the Enhance Construction Pension Scheme will no longer receive an employer contribution.