To help people save for their retirement the Government requires all employers in the UK to automatically enrol their workers into a workplace pension, if they meet certain requirements. This is known as automatic enrolment and already happens in the LGPS, with most new employees automatically joining the Scheme when they commence employment.
Under the LGPS rules, if you are eligible to be a member of the LGPS and are employed on a contract of three months or more, you will automatically become a member of the Scheme on the first day of your contract.
If you are eligible to be a member of the LGPS and are initially employed in a contract of less than three months, you will only be automatically enrolled into the LGPS if your contract is extended to be three months or longer or if you meet certain age and pay requirements and your employer chooses to bring you into the Scheme.
If you do not meet the criteria to be automatically enrolled into the Scheme but are eligible, you can still choose to join by contacting your employer, in which case you will join from the next available pay period.
As a member of the LGPS, you can choose to leave the LGPS by opting-out at any time.
If you are already a member of the LGPS, automatic enrolment will not affect you as you are already a member of a qualifying pension scheme. However, you may be affected if you change jobs or opt-out of the LGPS.
The aim of automatic enrolment is to encourage people to save towards their retirement and have enough income to enjoy it. The full new State Pension is £241.30 a week. This is designed to be a foundation and is unlikely to be enough for most people when they retire. The State Pension Age ranges from 65 to 68 and you can find out yours by using the State Pension Age calculator.
Assuming that you meet the criteria then the answer is yes.
The law requires all employers to automatically re-enrol their workers into a workplace pension every three years if they meet certain requirements.
If you meet the criteria you will be put back into the LGPS even if you have previously decided that being a member is not right for you. Your employer will write to you to let you know that this has happened.
If you are automatically enrolled, you can choose to leave the LGPS by opting-out at any time.
All workers can join the pension scheme at any time if they want to.
Yes. If you would like to join the LGPS and you are under age 75, you can do so at any time, regardless of how much you earn or the length of your contract. Please contact your employer if you wish to join or re-join the LGPS.
In the following table you can find out about the different categories of worker and how you may be affected under the automatic-enrolment rules.
What Type of worker are you? |
How will automatic enrolment impact you? |
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Age 22 or over and you earn over £10,000 a year (or pro rata in any pay period) and are under State Pension age. |
Eligible jobholder |
You will be automatically enrolled in the LGPS. |
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You are aged between 16 and 74 and you earn between £6,240 and £10,000 a year (or pro rata in any pay period). |
Non-eligible jobholder |
You will not be automatically enrolled into the LGPS, but you can still join by contacting your employer. If you do not join, you will be automatically enrolled in the LGPS if you become an 'eligible jobholder' in the future. |
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You are aged between 16 and 21, or between State Pension Age and 74 and you earn over £10,000 a year (or pro rata in any pay period). |
Non-eligible jobholder |
You will not be automatically enrolled into the LGPS, but you can still join by contacting your employer. If you do not join, you will be automatically enrolled in the LGPS if you become an 'eligible jobholder' in the future. |
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You do not meet any of the requirements above. |
Entitled worker |
You will not be automatically enrolled into the LGPS, but you can still join by contacting your employer. If you do not join, you will be automatically enrolled in the LGPS if you become an 'eligible jobholder' in the future. |
These are the pay limits as of April 2026, they are subject to change each April. If you are unsure of the pay limits, you should contact your employer.