The law on workplace pensions requires that, if you are an eligible member of staff or casual worker, Imperial must enrol you into a  pension scheme supported by Imperial – this is called automatic enrolment because it is automatic for staff – you do not have to take any action to be enrolled into a pension scheme. Auto-enrolment is intended to encourage you to save into a pension scheme to provide for your retirement.

  • If you are already in one of Imperial's pensions schemes (USS, SAUL or NHSPS) your pension scheme membership will not be affected by these changes.
  • If you have opted out of the pension scheme already, you may be auto-enrolled at Imperial three year anniversary as required by UK law.
  • If you have opted-out because you have a Protected Lifetime Allowance please ensure you have told pensions@imperial.ac.uk (including your protection number), so that we can ensure you are not included in future auto-enrolment exercises.

‌‌‌Opting out of the Pension scheme

If you are an Imperial employee who is currently contributing to an Imperial pension scheme and wish to opt out/withdraw from it, please follow the guidance to either complete the relevant opt-out form and return it to pensions@imperial.ac.uk  or follow the link and complete the opt-out process as advised below. 

If you are a new employee, you should return your opt-out form to your Departmental Administrator along with all other new starter paperwork. Please note that it is a legal requirement for Imperial to auto-enrol you into the relevant scheme before actioning your opt-out request.

Please refer to your contract of employment to check which scheme you will be auto-enrolled into.
NOTE: You cannot opt out of a pension scheme before your start date, or, if you are a casual worker, until you have been auto-enrolled into a pension scheme.

If you would like further information about auto-enrolment, please refer to the FAQS or visit the Department for Work & Pensions (DWP) website.