WEST MIDLANDS PENSION FUND

Submit a joiner

Please make sure all new joiners are included in the monthly submission for the month that they join.

The following table explains the scenarios in which new joiner notifications are required by the Fund and the relevant action needed by employers.

Detail New Joiner? Action
Member has joined employer that month
(Or in a previous month and not notified to the Fund in relevant Monthly Data Submission)
Yes Member should be indicated as a new joiner in the monthly submission data file for the month that they join. For further information please refer to File Layout - Monthly Data Submissions.
Historic joiner cases Yes A file can be submitted for historic joiner cases for new members of staff (who have not previously been notified to us via the monthly submission data file due to omission or error). Please see ‘Bulk Joiner Notification’ in the downloads section and in the relevant section below. These should be submitted on ESS via an Admin Referral workflow.
Member opts to move from the main section to the 50/50 section of the scheme and vice versa No Employer is required to mark such change on the relevant monthly submission and submit a Standard Interface noting the change of scheme via Employer Self-Service.
TUPE transfers No For further guidance on the required actions for a TUPE transfer, please refer to our TUPE guidance here.
Employer has a new Payroll Provider No Members are not to be flagged as a joiner/leaver in this scenario. New Payroll Providers must be notified to the Employer Services team.
Member payroll number changes No Individual payroll number changes should be confirmed via a Standard Interface. In instances where several member records are subject to a payroll change, please complete a bulk member change file (supplied by WMPFEmployerliaison2@wolverhampton.gov.uk upon request).
Member has a promotion
(Where they retain the same contract and there are no breaks in service)
No Member is not a new joiner and should not be flagged on the monthly submission.
Where a member moves to another academy within the same Multi-Academy Trust (MAT)   Please refer to the Fund in the first instance to determine what actions are required.
Auto-enrolment cycle Yes You are required to automatically enrol new employees. Additionally, if a member opted out, and then due to auto-enrolment regulations they have since been admitted back into the Fund (following a break in service), they must be flagged as a new joiner on the relevant monthly submission. See further section below.

Statutory Notifications

When a new joiner is admitted into the Fund, it is required that employers issue a statutory notification to the new member. Please see the downloads section for a draft statutory notification that can be issued to members.

Related information

Automatic Enrolment

Auto-enrolment is a government initiative to encourage workers to pay into pension arrangements. The scheme requires employers to enrol their eligible workers into a pension scheme automatically and to pay towards their pensions.

There are two requirements upon employers to admit eligible workers into the scheme:

  • New Joiners
  • Re-enrolment into scheme every three years

Eligible workers will be able to opt out of their employer's scheme if they have chosen not to participate. Please see Pensions Regulator - auto-enrolment process for more information on this process

Declaration of Compliance

To confirm your compliance with Automatic Enrolment as an employer you will need to complete a 'Declaration of Compliance'.

For details on how to complete this declaration and the process for submission please visit tPR Automatic enrolment declaration - Help for Employers

To complete the declaration, the information that you require from West Midlands Pension Fund, is the following:

  • Employer Pension Scheme Reference (EPSR) - This is your unique Employer Number (either a three or four-digit number). This is the number you were allocated upon becoming a WMPF Employer.   
  • Pension Scheme Registry Number (PSRN): 10079176 – You will need this number to quote auto-enrolling members into the scheme and for filling out the Declaration of Compliance.

All other information that is required for the completion of this form, is your own individual payroll information that you hold. If you are an employer that uses an outsourced payroll provider, you should contact them to obtain this information. 

Form A1 (previous pension rights information)

Following scheme enrolment, employers should provide a Form A1 to members,  allowing them to declare previous pension rights and investigate transfers into the Fund. The form (found in the downloads section) should be completed by members and returned to the employer. Pease ensure you insert the members individual pension reference on Form A1 before sending it a copy to DMT@wolverhampton.gov.uk

If you have a member that has previously opted-out and would like to re-join the Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS), please refer the member to the member webpage.

50/50 Section

Following written receipt of member election to enter or exit the 50/50 section of the scheme, employers are required to indicate the change on next monthly submission file and also submit a Standard Interface noting the change via Employer Self-Service. For more information on how Employers should administer requests received, please view the ‘50/50 section membership from April 2014 - Employer guidance notes’ in the Downloads section.

As part of the automatic enrolment cycle, members will be automatically moved back into the main section of the scheme with the opportunity to move back following a subsequent election.

Bulk Joiners

A file can be submitted for new members of staff who have not previously been indicated as a new joiner via the monthly submission data file due to omission or error.

Please use the Bulk Joiner Notification provided in the Downloads section and save your file as a .xls/.xlsx file and upload it an Admin Referral workflow in Employer Self-Service. There is no need to remove the header information when loading .xls/.xlsx files through Employer Self-Service.

Please note if you any undisclosed pre-2014 joiners please contact Employer Services on WMPFEmployerliaison2@wolverhampton.gov.uk

Please refer to the Fund in these instances on how to confirm historic joiner information, such as backdated earnings and contributions.