BT Pensions - auto enrolment
25th October 2012
From 1st November 2012, BT, BT Fleet and BTMSL have a
legal duty to ensure that all eligible employees are put into a
pension scheme that meets the Government's standards as a
qualifying workplace pension scheme.
Auto enrolment is a process that has been put in place by the
Government to help people save more for their retirement. Employees
will be automatically enrolled if they are between age 22 and state
pension age and earn at least £8,105 each year.
BT will auto enrol those who have opted out from BT pensions
into the BT Retirement Saving Scheme (BTRSS). The BTRSS is the
company's defined contribution pension. Those staff who are
already drawing a pension from the BT Pension Scheme will be
enrolled into NEST, a simple and low cost pension established by
the Government.
Nigel Cotgrove, assistant secretary,
said "Auto enrolment has long been supported by the trade
union movement as a key way of helping to address pensioner
poverty. BT already auto enrols new hires into a pension and so is
better placed than many employers, but there are a few thousand
staff who have either opted out of existing pensions or who are
already drawing a BT pension."
"We welcome the fact that those being auto enrolled into
the BTRSS will be joining on the normal arrangements which mean
that for a 5% member contribution BT pays 8%. Moreover, there is a
guaranteed minimum £1,500 contribution from BT for those whose
salary is less than £18,750 - pro rated for part time staff.
Those joining the BTRSS are covered by enhanced death in service
arrangements and there is also a valuable dependents pension."
BT will be writing directly to all staff about auto enrolment
later this month.
Other BT companies will have a later staging date, likely to be
no earlier than 1st November 2013.
Further information on arrangements in BT can be found in LTB 806/12 which is in the members section.
