How to submit pension contributions to your pension provider in Sage Payroll.
Description
As an employer, you must submit pension information to your pension provider. Each submission includes a list of your employees and how much they're contributing.
Sage Payroll can calculate all the information your pension provider will need.
Resolution
Before you start
Before you can submit pension contributions, you need to:
- Register with your pension provider
- Have access to your pension provider portal login
- Set up pension schemes in Sage Payroll
- Process any request to opt in/opt out and join/leave a pension scheme
- Complete the pay run you're submitting pension contributions for
If you're a new business, find out how to set up Auto Enrolment. visit The Pensions Regulator (TPR) website.
How to confirm pension contributions are correct
Pension contributions calculate using the settings from your pension scheme, and the payments used in your pay runs.
Ensure the pension deductions are correct before submitting the data. Check that you have set up the pension scheme and payments as required in Sage Payroll.
We’ve provided some example calculations below. For each example, the employee has gross pay of £2,000 per month, and the Employee contribution rate of 5%.
Select your pension calculation type:
▼Deduct before tax Gross pay of £2,000
Pension contribution of 5% = £100
Tax calculated on remaining pay of £1,900
Tax not calculated on £100 pension contribution. The employee pays less tax.
▼Deduct after tax Gross pay of £2,000
Tax calculated on this amount of £2,000
Pension contribution of 5%. £100 – 20% tax = £80
HMRC pay an additional 20% tax relief into your pension at the request of your pension provider = £20
Total pension contribution of £80 + £20 = £100
How to send pension contribution submissions
Sage Payroll can submit pension contribution files directly to NEST, Smart and the Peoples pension.
The submission checks the payroll details match those on your pension provider portal. If they don’t match exactly, the submission will fail.
For other pension providers, you need to export a file from Sage Payroll. You can upload the file to the pension provider portal.
Alternatively, you can manually enter the contribution details into your pension provider's portal.
The steps to submit your data depend on your pension provider:
▼NEST Pensions
Online submission
Use this option to send the data from payroll to NEST. For detailed steps, read Submit pension data to NEST - Online submissions
If you get an error when submitting, read Fix pension errors - Nest Pensions.
Upload a submission file manually
Use this option if you prefer to save and upload a file to the NEST portal website. For detailed steps, read Send pension data to NEST - CSV files.
To upload a member enrolment file
Member enrolment files contain any new employees'. They’ll enrol for the relevant pay reference period.
-
Select Manage Pension File then Open NEST portal.
-
Enter your NEST account username and password, then select Login.
-
Select Manage your workers, then File upload.
-
Select Choose File to search for the file on your computer, then Upload file.
Get information about uploading contribution files. Access the NEST website.
To upload a contribution file:
-
Select Manage Contributions.
-
In the Edit/Pay section, select the arrow alongside the contribution schedule you’re uploading the file for.
-
Select Upload file.
-
Select Choose File to search for the file on your computer, then Upload file.
Get information about uploading contribution files. Access the NEST website.
▼Smart Pension ▼NOW: Pensions
Online submission
You can't submit NOW pension contributions directly from Sage Payroll/
Upload a submission file manually
- Open the completed Pay Run.
- In the Pensions submissions area, select Export CSV and: Pensions.
- The csv file downloads to your browsers download folder.
NOTE: This is in a PAPDIS format. Check that your provider accepts this.
You must then log into your NOW account to upload the pension file.
▼Other pension providers
You can use the pension contributions report to complete your provider's online template. You can also save it as a PAPDIS file. You can upload this to some pension provider's web portals.
PAPDIS (Payroll And Pension Data Interface Standard) is an open standard report. Payroll systems use it to transfer information to pension providers.
Your pension provider can confirm if they support the upload of a PAPDIS file.
The pension contributions report lists:
-
Each employee enrolled in the pension scheme
-
The employees' automatic enrolment status
-
Pensionable pay values
-
Qualifying earnings
-
Employer and employee pension contributions
To download the pension contributions report as either a PDF or a PAPDIS file:
-
Select the Pay Runs tab.
-
Choose the relevant completed pay run.
-
Under Pension submissions, select View pension contributions for this pay period.
-
To generate a PDF report, select Download Report.
-
To generate a PAPDIS file, select Export CSV.
Speak to your pension provider for:
- Help completing their online template
- Uploading a PAPDIS file
How to fix problems when submitting
If there’s a problem with the submission, an error message displays. This is from the pension provider and explains why the submission has failed.
To find the full error message in Sage Payroll:
-
Select Summary in the menu bar.
-
Under Auto Enrolment / Pensions, locate the failed submission and select View Submission Details.
-
Select your pension provider below:
Review contributions and record payments
Review your pension contributions to view employee contributions for each month. This confirms how much you need to send to your pension provider.
▼To review -
Select the Pensions tab.
-
Select Review contributions & record payments.
-
Choose the relevant Pension reference period and select View detailed contributions.
-
To save a copy of the report, select Download Report.
If you subscribe to Sage Accounting, you can use Record Payment to post the payment to Accounting.
The payment reduces your company bank account and pensions liability.
▼To record to Sage Accounting -
Select Return to Review Pension Payments.
-
Check the amount to pay and enter your payment date.
-
Enter a reference or cheque number and select Record Payment.
What to do if you’ve edited the pay run
You may edit a completed pay run after you upload a submission file. The steps you need to take depend on your pension provider.
For help with editing a completed pay run, read, Correct a completed pay run.
▼Nest Pensions You may edit a completed pay run after you upload the contribution files to NEST. You need to download a corrected pension file and upload it.
The new file contains information for all employees with NEST pension values. This includes any corrections.
Generate a new contribution submission after editing a completed pay run:
-
In the Completed pay Run Summary, Select Pension submissions, then View Submission Details.
-
Select Manage Pension File, then Regenerate CSV file.
Depending on your Internet browser, the file saves to your Downloads folder. You may get a prompt to save the file.
In this case, make a note of the file name and browse to where you want to save it. For example, the Windows desktop. Then select Save.
-
Select Manage Pension File and then Open NEST portal.
-
Enter your NEST account username and password, then select Login.
-
Once you upload the file and NEST accept, you must confirm the file upload is successful in Sage Payroll.
-
Select Manage Pension File and then Confirm CSV upload.
-
When asked if the submission uploaded, select Yes.
▼Smart pensions You can't re-submit pension contribution details to Smart Pension. This applies even if there has been a change to the contribution values. Instead, Smart Pension registers changes in your next pension contribution submission.
You can edit a pay run after you've submitted the pension details to Smart Pension. Any change in values appear in the next Smart submission.
▼Other pension providers You can still edit a completed pay run after you upload the submission file. Contact your pension provider for advice.
They may need a new PAPDIS file, or want changes made to their portal after editing a completed pay run:
-
In the Completed Pay Run Summary, Select Export CSV.
-
Select your pension provider name.
The new file saves to your downloads folder. Depending on your browser, you may see a prompt to view the file at the top right corner of the screen.
Related Solutions
Africa
Asia
Australia
Canada
France
Ireland
Kenya
Nigeria
Portugal
South Africa
Spain
United Arab Emirates
United States
Germany