Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what contact they have had with the Pensions Regulator during the past six months to ensure that the Regulator and the MasterTrust Assurance Framework take all necessary steps to ensure that workers earning below the personal tax threshold, and their employers, who are paying into net pay pension schemes under the auto-enrolment rules, are not disadvantaged by the loss of tax relief, and are properly informed of the personal impact of those schemes.

The Government has regular discussions with the Pensions Regulator on a range of issues, including workplace pensions.

Workplace pension schemes are chosen by employers and the Pensions Regulator (TPR) provides guidance on this in relation to automatic enrolment. The guidance covers the choice between net pay and relief at source schemes, and the implications of net pay schemes for employees who do not pay tax. It also points out that some schemes that use the net pay arrangement may have lower charges than schemes that operate relief at source.

All employers, including public sector employers, are expected to follow TPR’s guidance about providing their employees with relevant information on the arrangements for tax relief.