Southwark Website

Automatic enrolment is a Government initiative to help more people save for later life through a workplace pension scheme. It asks employers to automatically enrol their eligible workers into a qualifying pension scheme, which the Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS) is - both the main Scheme and the 50/50 section of the Scheme. Monthly contributions are paid by both you and the employer.

Workers are put into three different categories depending on how much they earn and their age.

Eligible Jobholders
Non-Eligible Jobholders
Entitled Workers

Do you know what type of worker you are?

Age	16-21	22-SPA*	SPA-75*
Earnings under £6,136 a year	Entitled Worker
Earnings between £6,136 and £10,000 a year	Non-Eligible Jobholder
Earnings over £10,000 a year	Non-Eligible Jobholder	Eligible Jobholder	Non-Eligible Jobholder

*State Pension Age (SPA)

What’s an Entitled Worker?

These are people who aren’t auto enrolled into the LGPS, but can make an election, or choose to join the Scheme.

What is a Non-Eligible Jobholder?

These are people who don’t have to be auto enrolled into the LGPS. They can ask to join the Scheme, and their employer will have to pay monthly contributions into their pension pots.

If you’re an Eligible or Non-Eligible Jobholder…

…your contract is for three months or more and you’re under 75 years old, you will automatically join the LGPS when your contract starts.

If you decide to opt-out (leave), and are an Eligible Jobholder, your employer will be required to re-enrol you into the LGPS approximately every three years on a set date.

If you were either a Non-Eligible Jobholder or an Entitled Worker…

…when you opted-out of the LGPS, your employer will be required to put you back into the Scheme if you then became an Eligible Jobholder.

Your employer may choose not to auto-enrol you if:

You opted-out of the LGPS within 12 months of the date you’re due to be auto-enrolled;
You’ve given your notice of resignation or retirement, or been given notice of dismissal; or
Your employer believes that you hold a Lifetime Allowance protection, such as Primary, Enhanced or Fixed Protection.

For further information about these protections visit the Tax controls and your pension page.

Take note!

If you opt-out, you can decide to re-join the LGPS at any time regardless of whether you’re an Entitled Worker, Non-Eligible Jobholder or Eligible Jobholder. However, if you opted-out since 11 April 2015, and you re-join the Scheme with the same employer and the same job, you won’t be able to combine the two periods of pensionable service together.

Automatic Enrolment/re-enrolment