Workplace pensions

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If you want to leave your workplace pension scheme

What you do if you want to leave a workplace pension depends on whether you’ve been ‘automatically enrolled’ in it or not.

If you have not been automatically enrolled

Check with your employer - they’ll tell you what to do.

If you’ve been automatically enrolled

Your employer will have sent you a letter telling you that you’ve been added to the scheme.

You can leave (called ‘opting out’) if you want to.

If you opt out within a month of your employer adding you to the scheme, you’ll get back any money you’ve already paid in.

You may not be able to get your payments refunded if you opt out later - they’ll usually stay in your pension until you retire.

You can opt out by contacting your pension provider. Your employer must tell you how to do this.

Reducing your payments

You may be able to reduce the amount you contribute to your workplace pension for a short time. Check with both your employer and your pension provider to see if you can do this and how long you can do it for.

Opting back in

You can do this at any time by writing to your employer. They do not have to accept you back into their workplace scheme if you’ve opted in and then opted out in the past 12 months.

Rejoining the scheme automatically

Your employer will automatically re-enrol you in the scheme. They must do this either every 3 years (from the date you first enrolled), or they can choose to do it sooner. They’ll write to you when they do this.

When you do not rejoin automatically

If you no longer qualify for the scheme, you will not be automatically re-enrolled.

If you chose to leave the scheme in the 12 months before the date you would have been re-enrolled, your employer does not have to automatically re-enrol you. But they can choose to re-enrol you.

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Part of Plan your retirement income: step by step

  1. Step 1 Check when you can retire

    1. Check what age you can get your State Pension
    2. Find out about working after you reach State Pension age
    3. Find out if you can retire early with your workplace or personal pension

  2. and Check how much pension you could get

    1. Find out how much State Pension you could get (your forecast)

    You may also be paying into a:

    1. Find out if you’ll pay tax on your pension
    2. Find contact details for a lost pension

  3. Step 2 Increase your pension

    You might be able to increase the amount you get if you delay your pension.

    1. Find out about delaying your pension

    You might be able to pay voluntary contributions to fill in gaps in your National Insurance record (such as, from when you were not working or claiming benefits).

    1. Check if you can pay voluntary National Insurance contributions

    For advice about increasing your workplace or private pension, speak to a financial adviser.

    1. Find a financial adviser through Unbiased

  4. Step 3 Check what other financial support you could get

    Check what financial help you could get if you:

    You can also get free bus travel if you:

  5. Step 4 Decide when to retire

    1. Get advice on planning your pension and deciding when to retire