EXCLUSIVE: The University of Edinburgh is to introduce a defined contribution (DC) pension scheme on 1 March 2013 as part of its auto-enrolment compliance duties.
The university will roll out the national employment savings trust (Nest) to its 12,300-strong workforce.
To comply with auto-enrolment requirements, the university will contribute the minimum of 3% to each employees’ pension, while staff will be expected to contribute at least 1% of salary.
The Scottish institutionalso currently runs two defined benefit (DB) schemes: an internal career-average revalued earnings (Care) scheme and the Universities Superannuation Scheme (USS).
Terry Fox, assistant director of finance at the University of Edinburgh, said the university has used various methods to communicate with employees. Around 1,500 employees will be automatically enrolled when te organisation reaches its staging date, with approximately half being placed into Nest and the remainder into the USS, .
Employees have already received an email with details about the changes, with a second to follow on 1 March.
All employees will receive a letter from 4 March 2013 onwards explaining how the legislation will affect them.
The university has also held auto-enrolment roadshows across its campuses to give employees the opportunity to speak to in-house pension staff about auto-enrolment.
It has also posted staff bulletins on the university’s website, a brief message on the bottom of the employees’ payslips in January 2013, and published a PDF document that can be accessed online and printed out for staff members who do not have internet access.
