Date posted: 01/06/2007

Audience:

  • HR Managers and staff who have responsibility for selection and recruitment
  • Finance/Payroll managers who have responsibility for ensuring that correct contribution rates and member information are added to the payroll

Action:

  • Note the change to the nuvos start date and that anyone who is due to start up to this date will be eligible to join premium or partnership as set out in the Employer’s Pension Guide Section 4 (available on CSP website);
  • Review any staff already recruited with a start date between 1 July and 29 July
  • Review eligibility for these staff for premium or partnership (see EPG Section 4)
  • Issue revised Letter of Appointment and order correct Starter Pack from St Ives using DRF1 spreadsheet or form
  • Make sure that your payroll provider understands the implication of the date change, instructing them accordingly
  • Note the change to the Pensions Questionnaire; download and use the revised version from the CSP website.

Timing: Immediate

Detail

  1. EPN158 told you about plans to introduce a new pension scheme for new entrants starting on or after 1 July 2007. EPNs 159, 166 and 172 gave you further information including instructions on handling recruitment for new entrants into the new scheme – nuvos.
  2. Due to circumstances beyond our control, we have to delay introduction of nuvos to Monday, 30 July 2007. It has not been possible to agree final details of the scheme and give the Council of Civil Service Unions sufficient time to consider the complete package of changes before 1 July.
  3. We recognise that this change will cause extra work for you, and we are sorry about this. However, St Ives hold only a tiny number of nuvos starter pack orders, so there should be very few people affected by the change. You now need to undertake the following actions:

(a) Review appointments of anyone who is due to start work between 1 July and 29 July 2007 who has already been sent a Letter of Appointment telling them that they will be joining nuvos.

(b) Review eligibility for these people for premium or partnership under the current scheme rules following the guidance set out in the Employers’ Pension Guide, Section 4. This is available on the ‘Guidance for employers’ section of our website.

(c) Send a new letter of appointment to those affected using appropriate text to reflect their eligibility for premium or partnership only (EPG Section 4 Annex 4B)

(d) Order the appropriate Starter Pack (full or partnership) from St Ives using the DRF1 spreadsheet or form (on CSP web under Guidance for employers/forms/new entrants).

(e) Carry out actions (b) to (d) for any other recruits whose start date is before 30 July 2007.

  1. St Ives are currently holding orders for Starter Packs for nuvos new entrants until the packs are available. St Ives will not send a nuvos pack to anyone for whom they have received DRF2 forms and whose start date is shown as 1 July to 29 July inclusive, so you do not need to take any action to cancel these orders.
  2. We expect that most new entrants affected by the change will be happy to be told that they are eligible for a final salary pension scheme with pension age 60. However, you should tell any new entrants who have already been given the choice of nuvos (i.e., those you identified at paragraph 3(a) above) that they may join nuvos if they would prefer to do so.
  3. Where anyone expresses interest in this option, you need to order a nuvos starter pack for them (this will be in addition to the starter pack ordered at 3(d) above) and you will clearly have to manage these cases carefully to make sure the person is put in the right pension scheme. For these cases only, you must send a new DRF2 form for the individual to Civil Service Pensions pcn@cabinet-office.x.gsi.gov.uk. We will arrange for St Ives to send a nuvos starter pack to the member. (Any DRF2 order forms sent directly to St Ives with a start date on or before 29 July will not be fulfilled.)
  4. You should apply the instructions set out in EPN172 for nuvos recruitment for any new entrant starting on or after 30 July 2007. We will reissue EPN172 with the revised dates on Monday, 11 June.

Payrolls

  1. EPN159 gave you guidance on the payroll changes necessary for introducing nuvos. The implication of the date change to 30 July for payrolls is that, save for those entrants who have already been offered nuvos membership and would prefer to remain in the scheme (paragraph 5 above); eligible new entrants starting up to and including 29 July will automatically be enrolled into premium. You should make sure that your payroll team(s) and payroll provider understand this and the necessary steps taken.

Pensions Questionnaire

  1. We have revised the calculator for the Rejoiner’s Questionnaire spreadsheet to clarify Questions 4 and 5 and tidy up some of the validation checks. The fundamental processing has not changed.
  2. Please download the revised Questionnaire from the Civil Service Pensions website and customise and use as instructed in EPN172. (Under Guidance for employers/forms (New entrant section)) Please make sure that all Staff involved in recruitment have the revised version.

Reference

This document refers to EPNs 158, 159, 166 and 172

Contacts

Enquiries about content, distribution or to receive in a different format

employerhelpdesk@cabinet-office.x.gsi.gov.uk
01256 846414
Employer Helpdesk
Civil Service Pensions
Grosvenor House
Basing View
Basingstoke
RG21 4HG

Published:
1 June 2007
Last updated:
24 April 2023