From 1 October 2012, legislation requires employers to ‘auto-enrol’ employees not already in a pension, if they meet the auto-enrolment eligibility criteria, into a qualifying pension scheme.
The actual date an employer has to comply with the new legislation (known as the ‘staging date’) was dependent on the number of UK employees on the payroll system. The staging date for Sopra Steria (previously Steria) was 1 May 2013.
The Company selected the Sopra Steria GPP to be the qualifying scheme for Sopra Steria UK-based employees. Employees have the legal right to opt out within one calendar month of being auto-enrolled and have their contributions returned to them. After this employees may opt out at any time but both their and Sopra Steria’s contributions will remain invested in the GPP.
Sopra Steria auto-enrols employees on the basis of a 4% contribution from the employer and 4% from the employee, calculated on Reference Salary.
Please note that there will be a re-enrolment exercise that occurs every three years. If you opted out, you will be re-enrolled in the Scheme. You still have the option to opt out. You'll receive further details around May 2019 if this affects you.