Pension Administration

A workplace pension is not set up once; it is administered every pay period, forever. Each run generates assessments, deductions, a contribution file the provider must receive in its own format, and payment deadlines with statutory consequences — late contributions must be reported to The Pensions Regulator by the provider, which means administration failures become regulatory ones automatically. Between runs sit opt-outs with refund windows, leavers, pay changes, and every three years the re-enrolment cycle.

Acumon takes over the whole loop. Because pension administration lives inside payroll — the deductions are payroll's own numbers — running the two together removes the reconciliation gap where most pension errors are born.

Every Pay Period, Handled

Each pay run, we assess every worker against the auto-enrolment thresholds, calculate contributions on the scheme's actual definition of pensionable pay — the detail most often configured wrong — produce and upload the contribution file in your provider's format, and reconcile what was deducted to what was paid across. Contributions reach the scheme within the statutory deadlines, evidenced, every period.

Joiners, Leavers, Opt-Outs and Changes

The events between pay runs are where pension administration actually gets lost: new starters enrolled or postponed with the correct statutory communications, opt-outs processed and refunded within the one-month window, leavers closed off cleanly with the provider, and contribution changes — pay rises, salary sacrifice elections, employees raising or stopping contributions — reflected accurately from the right period. We run the events as they happen rather than sweeping up at year-end.

Re-Enrolment, Declarations and the Regulator

Every three years the cyclical duties return: eligible staff who opted out must be re-assessed and re-enrolled, and a re-declaration of compliance filed with The Pensions Regulator — the duty employers most often miss because it arrives years after anyone thought about pensions. We diarise the window, run the exercise and file the declaration. If the Regulator writes — compliance notices, unpaid-contribution reports — we handle the response and fix the cause.

Scheme Housekeeping and Salary Sacrifice

Beyond the statutory loop we keep the arrangement itself healthy: provider performance and charges sanity-checked, pensionable pay definitions verified against what payroll actually calculates, and salary sacrifice implemented properly where it suits — reducing employer and employee National Insurance on contributions with the payroll treatment done correctly. Where a scheme review points at regulated financial advice, we say so plainly and work alongside your adviser; the administration is ours, the investment advice is not.

What You Get With Acumon

• Assessment and contribution calculations every pay period
• Provider contribution files produced, uploaded and reconciled
• Statutory payment deadlines met and evidenced, every period
• Opt-outs and refunds processed within the statutory windows
• Joiners, leavers and contribution changes handled as they occur
• Three-yearly re-enrolment run and re-declared on time
• Pensions Regulator correspondence answered, causes fixed
• Salary sacrifice contributions implemented correctly in payroll

Why Acumon for Pension Administration?

• All payroll staff hold Chartered Institute of Payroll Professionals (CIPP) qualifications
• Manages payrolls in-house for 250+ companies
• All payroll team members are based in the UK
• Pension administration runs inside the payroll process — one team, no reconciliation gap

Get a Fixed-Fee Quote

Tell us what you need and we'll come back within one business day with a clear scope and a fixed price — no hourly-rate surprises. Call 020 8567 3451 or use the form and we'll be in touch.