Pension contributions missing/inaccurate

[okaythensure]

Good morning

I'm looking for some advice on how to raise my concerns re pension contributions with my relatively new job.

According to payslips £100 is being taken each month from my salary for pension contributions but when I look at my pension dashboard it's saying the contribution from my salary is £80.

That's the first issue.

Secondly I have payslip showing contributions but they're not reflection the pension dashboard - there are two of those months.

And thirdly some months when I've received a small bonus/or just randomly there are no contributions are stated on my payslip or showing on my pension account.

I want to have my facts straight before I approach finance as I've only been there 9 months but I need to query 5 of them.

I don't them to be wrong but convince me it's all okay!

Bonus isn't usually pensionable.

Is there a transactions page on your pension portal? If so check that's in line with your payslip.

I wonder if the £80 mentioned is being referred to as the net cost to you, but if you check the transactions list it should definitely match. It should also show your employer contributions.

They have 19 days to pay the pension after end of month.

So there could be a month delay in payments?

But I agree, dubs your transactions page on the pension to check all payments going in to pension to try and match some.

Thanks for your responses.

Nothing matches up and their contribution has stayed the same even though I've increased my hours.

And there are months missing a payment completely.

Very handy to know about time frames they have to pay in. Payment is usually in the account by 20th of each month so it's later than usual for April

You should definitely raise this with your payroll/finance team.

Ultimately , if your employer doesn’t resolve this to your satisfaction (which should include making good any loss you’ve had where contributions are paid over late), you can complain to the Pensions Ombudsman but you would need to exhaust your employer’s/pension provider’s complaints process first (depending where any fault lies).

However at this stage it’s just an enquiry as it might just be a misunderstanding about how the dashboard works/how often it’s updated, so ask them and see what they say. Then you will know if you need to take it further.

I've spoken to my pension provider (?) (the place that holds my pension)

And they've said that it appears my account is being run poorly. Finance is missing contributions months at a time and then doing three months at once.

And for some reason not adding my pension when I've had a bonus.

This has made us really hard for me to track what they've been doing

That's really poor.
@ChessieFL advice is good here.

So with bonus it's not necessarily pensionable, usually you will find that pension is only calculated on base pay.

However the paying over of contributions late is very poor. There has been a lot of volatility in markets but they have performed strongly lately so this may well have negatively influenced your pot value (ie if they had invested them on time you may have made returns which you now haven't). In any case the company is required to pay over contributions by 22nd of the month (19th if they pay by cheque which is unlikely).

They need to be able to reconcile each payroll deduction with when they paid it over.

I would ask the finance team to show their calculations for your pension contributions to date as you don't understand them.

Thank you for all your responses.

I've contacted the finance team to ask what's going on.

I hope this may be the push they need to make them realise I am checking my payslips and pension account and going forward they will be more on the ball

It’s fine to just ask!
‘hi pensions person,
I’ve been going through my statements and there’s a few things that don’t make sense and are different to my previous job - I’ve listed them below, or perhaps it would be easier to chat this through by phone/in person?
thanks!’

it’s essential for you to know how your pension works so do make sure you ask.