5.13.1 You need to produce certification that partnership and Concord meets the relevant quality standard published by the Pension Regulator for pension schemes used for automatic enrolment. If you do not have any members in partnership or Concord you do not need to produce a certificate. However, when you get your first member you should undertake a certification exercise. Note that a certificate expires after 18 months.
5.13.2 Detailed guidance about certification and the process you will need to follow is available at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/automatic-enrolment-guidance-on-certifying-money-purchase-pension-schemes
5.13.3 A template certificate is available at the link above. Some details which may be useful for completing the certificate are provided below:
a. The partnership Pension Scheme Registry Number (PSR is): 12005868
b. You are certifying a section/part of a scheme, the details of this is that you participate in a Master Trust arrangement, and you are only certifying that the quality standards of automatic enrolment are met for your organisations members of partnership.
c. The certificate relates to an occupational money purchase scheme
d. You are free to choose whichever alternative quality test to use.
5.13.4 If you conclude that partnership does not meet the quality requirements for your partnership members, you should contact the scheme with details of your assessment. If you conclude that partnership does meet the quality requirements for your partnership members you should produce and retain the certificate. You only need to provide confirmation of holding a certificate in the Annual Assurance Statement, you do not need to send the certificate to the scheme or separately inform the scheme that you have passed the test.
5.13.5 Alternatively you can decide to carry out an entitlement check instead of certification, as described in this document - https://www.thepensionsregulator.gov.uk/-/media/thepensionsregulator/files/import/pdf/dg-4-appendix-f.ashx
