**Why Can't I See Any Pension Payments on My Bank Account?**

If you’re a company using FreePayroll and you’ve recently run payroll but don’t see any pension payments reflected in your bank account, don’t worry. Here are some common reasons why this might be happening and how FreePayroll handles pension contributions to ensure your payroll process remains smooth and your cash flow protected.

**1. Deferred Pension Contributions**

FreePayroll is designed to protect your company's cash flow by deferring the collection of pension contributions until after the employee opt-out period has ended. Here’s how it works:

- Opt-Out Period: When you run payroll, FreePayroll assesses your workforce to identify eligible employees who are not yet enrolled in the pension scheme.
- Automatic Enrollment: Eligible employees are automatically enrolled, and they receive a welcome pack via email to complete their registration or opt out.
- Deferred Collection: Pension contributions are not collected immediately. Instead, FreePayroll waits until the 30-day opt-out period has passed before collecting and processing the contributions. This ensures that your company isn’t out of pocket by collecting contributions upfront and potentially refunding them if employees opt out.

Result: Since contributions are deferred, you won’t see pension payments in your bank account until after the opt-out period has ended and the contributions have been processed.

**2. Enrollment Status Verification**

Verify that the employees you expect to have pension contributions paid are indeed enrolled:

- Check Pension Status:
- Navigate to the "People" section in FreePayroll.
- Look at the "Pension Status" column to verify each employee’s status.
- Possible statuses include:
- Not Enrolled: The employee is not enrolled in the pension scheme.
- Enrolled: The employee is enrolled and pension contributions will be processed.
- Opted-Out: The employee has opted out within the 30-day period.
- Left Scheme: The employee has left the pension scheme and is not entitled to a refund.

Action: Ensure that employees who should have contributions deducted are marked as "Enrolled".

**Important Notes**

You can view all your pension payments, by navigating to "Auto Enrolment" in the left-side menu, and clicking on "Pension Payments".

Updated on: 11/10/2024