Changes to the Contribution File Format

Workers Pension Trust is required by The Pensions Regulator to monitor the accuracy of contributions received. In order to automate checks we are making some changes to the pension contribution upload file format. These extra fields will include the Pay Reference Period and the Gross Salary for that period.

We are working with payroll providers to make these changes as smooth as possible.  Further information will be provided on the website and issued to all employers and accountants over the course of the next few months.

There will also be a new grid format so that contributions can be entered manually without uploading a file. Any errors or validation issues will be shown on the grid so that it is easier to see what needs to be amended.

The new file format for employers will be:

New fields

• PRP – this refers to the Payment Reference Period. For example, employees may be paid weekly, monthly, four weekly or fortnightly.
  • Date PRP Start – the date on which the relative contribution period started.
  • Date PRP End – the date on which the relative contribution period ends.
  • Salary for PRP – gross qualifying earnings for the contribution period before salary thresholds are applied.
• Employer and Employee Lump Sum – If the employer or the employee would like to make an additional payment into the fund, enter the value into the corresponding column. This is not validated but cannot be a negative value.
• Use PRP – this should normally be Yes, however if the PRP for a contribution is different from the normal payment frequency recorded for the employee but the normal payment frequency should still be applied to validate the contribution, then select No.