3.5.1 Pension provision forms a significant part of the total reward package you offer your employees. When you are pay bargaining, you will need to consider the affordability of contributions you pay towards your employees’ pensions.
3.5.2 Depending on the particular schemes members choose, they also bear a share of pension costs by making a contribution from their pay.
3.5.3 You must give your payroll the information in this particular section so that they can correctly calculate the contributions for each of the schemes.
Table 1 gives an overview of what you must pay as an employer, and also the percentage of contribution the member makes.
Table 1 - Paying for Civil Service pensions
|
Pension Arrangement |
Employer contribution? |
Employee contribution? |
Where do you pay the contributions? |
When? |
|
alpha |
Yes (see 'alpha, nuvos, premium, classic and classic plus schemes', paragraph 3.5.4 onwards) |
Yes A percentage of alpha pensionable earnings |
Cabinet Office Civil Superannuation Vote |
As soon as possible after pay day and before 19th day of the month following the payment run |
|
nuvos |
Yes (see 'alpha, nuvos, premium, classic and classic plus schemes' paragraph 3.5.4 onwards) |
Yes A percentage of nuvos pensionable earnings |
Cabinet Office Civil Superannuation Vote |
As soon as possible after pay day and before 19th day of the month following the payment run |
|
premium |
Yes (see 'alpha, nuvos, premium, classic and classic plus schemes' paragraph 3.5.4 onwards) |
Yes A percentage of premium pensionable earnings |
Cabinet Office Civil Superannuation Vote |
As soon as possible after pay day and before 19th day of the month following the payment run |
|
classic |
Yes (see 'alpha, nuvos, premium, classic and classic plus schemes' paragraph 3.5.4 onwards) |
Yes A percentage of classic pensionable earnings |
Cabinet Office Civil Superannuation Vote |
As soon as possible after pay day and before 19th day of the month following the payment run |
|
classic plus |
Yes (see 'alpha, nuvos, premium, classic and classic plus schemes', paragraph 3.5.4 onwards) |
A percentage of classic plus pensionable earnings |
Cabinet Office Civil Superannuation Vote |
As soon as possible after pay day and before 19th day of the month following the payment run |
|
partnership |
Yes (see ‘partnership pension accounts’,paragraph 3.5.12 onwards and Employer contribution rates) |
Yes, but only if they choose to make a contribution |
1) Main employee and employer contributions go to the pension provider 2) A mini ASLC of 0.5% of pensionable earnings for risk benefits goes to the Cabinet Office Civil Superannuation Vote |
1) As soon as possible after pay day and before 22nd day (or 19th day if paid by cheque) of the month following the payment run 2) As soon as possible after pay day and before 19th day of the month following the payment run |
|
Added pension |
No, but there are exceptional circumstances where you can buy added pension for an employee (you must contact the Scheme Manager before doing so) |
Yes, age related – see section 5 (‘Your responsibilities when staff are in service’) on added pension |
Cabinet Office Civil Superannuation Vote |
As soon as possible after pay day and before 19th day of the month following the payment run |
|
AVCS |
No |
Yes, see section 3.3 (The Civil Service Additional Voluntary Contribution Scheme (CSAVCS)) |
To the pension provider |
As soon as possible after pay day and before 22nd day (or 19th day if paid by cheque) following the payment run |
|
Supplementary (Earnings Cap) Scheme |
Yes – as advised by the Scheme Manager |
Yes A percentage of pensionable earnings over the earnings cap without tax relief |
Cabinet Office Civil Superannuation Vote |
As soon as possible after pay day and before 19th day of the month following the payment run |
|
Civil Service Injury Benefit Scheme (CSIBS) |
You pay for the costs of injuries that happened after 1 April 1998 |
No |
No contributions Benefits are paid from Cabinet Office Civil Superannuation Vote and recovered from employers. |
When benefits are due |
|
Civil Service Compensation Scheme (CSCS) |
Yes, you are responsible for paying the full cost of compensation for early leavers |
No |
No contributions Any lump sum compensation payment will be paid directly from your payroll Any cost for the buy-out of an early payment reduction or the purchase of added pension is paid out from the Cabinet Office Civil Superannuation Vote but the amount is recovered from employers each month by the Scheme Administrator |
When benefits are due See section 6 (‘Your responsibilities when staff leave before the pension age’) |