The Occupational and Personal Pension Schemes (Automatic Enrolment) Regulations 2010

Pay reference periods for the purposes of section 20(1)(b) and (c) and section 26(4)(b) and (5)(b) of the Act E+W+S

[F1 5.— (1) The pay reference periods for the purposes of section 20(1)(b) and (c) (quality requirement: UK money purchase schemes) and section 26(4)(b) and (5)(b) (quality requirement: UK personal pension schemes) of the Act are as follows.

(2) A pay reference period may be either—

(a) subject to paragraph (10), a period of a year, ending on the day before an anniversary of the employer’s staging date;

(b) a period which is equal in length to the period by reference to which the jobholder is paid their regular wage or salary, commencing on the first day of that period; or

(c) subject to paragraph (4)(b), a period which is equal in length to the usual interval between payments of the jobholder’s regular wage or salary, commencing on the date determined in accordance with paragraph (3).

(3) Where paragraph (2)(c) applies, pay reference periods in respect of a person commence—

(a) where the person is paid monthly, on the first day of a tax month;

(b) where the person is paid weekly, on the first day of a tax week;

(c) where the person is paid at intervals of multiple weeks, on—

(i) 6th April; and

(ii) the first day of the tax week which commences immediately after the expiry of a pay interval period beginning on 6th April, unless paragraph (4) applies; and

(d) where the person is paid at intervals of multiple months, on—

(i) 6th April; and

(ii) the first day of the tax month which commences immediately after the expiry of a pay interval period beginning on 6th April, unless paragraph (4) applies.

(4) Where paragraph (2)(c) applies and a pay reference period includes the last day of a tax year—

(a) the next pay reference period commences on 6th April; and

(b) if the qualifying earnings which, but for this sub-paragraph, would fall in that pay reference period, are paid or payable on or after 6th April, the pay reference period ends on 5th April.

(5) Where paragraph (2)(a) applies, the first pay reference period in respect of a person commences—

(a) on the relevant day; or

(b) where there has been a period beginning after the relevant day, during which the requirements of section 1(1)(a) or (c) of the Act were not met but the person remained an active member of a qualifying scheme, on the day following the last day of that period.

(6) Where paragraph (2)(b) applies, the first pay reference period in respect of a person commences on the first day determined in accordance with that paragraph which falls on or after the relevant day.

(7) Where paragraph (2)(c) applies, the first pay reference period in respect of a person commences on the first day determined in accordance with paragraph (3) which falls on or after the relevant day.

(8) Subject to paragraph (2)(c), a pay reference period in relation to any person ends on the day before the day on which the next pay reference period begins.

(9) Where a person ceases to be a jobholder of the employer or ceases to be an active member of a qualifying scheme the last pay reference period—

(a) ends on the day on which the person’s status so changes, where paragraph (2)(a) applies; or

(b) is the pay reference period which includes the day on which the person’s status so changes, where paragraph (2)(b) or (c) applies.

(10) A pay reference period under paragraph (2)(a) may be less than a year if it either commences or ends within the period of a year ending on the day before an anniversary of the employer’s staging date.

(11) In this regulation—

“relevant day” means the first day on or after the staging date on which the person is both a jobholder and an active member of a qualifying scheme; and

“pay interval period”, “tax week” and “tax month” have the same meaning as in regulation 4.]

Textual Amendments

F1 Reg. 5 substituted (1.11.2013) by The Automatic Enrolment (Miscellaneous Amendments) Regulations 2013 (S.I. 2013/2556), regs. 1(1), 5(3)