Pension

[natalieweal]

I am trying to get an understanding of the percentages that other almshouse charities offer to their staff – both employer and employee contributions. We are currently reviewing our pension contributions and it would be nice to know what other charity’s are offering as a comparison.

[Laurie Caterer]

Hi. I believe it’s 5% employee contribution and 3% employer.

[clerk.stjohnswilton]

In 2025/26, the minimum total auto-enrolment pension contribution is 8% of qualifying earnings, with employers contributing at least 3%. Employees are typically required to contribute 5% to make up the remaining 8%. This minimum contribution applies to earnings between £6,240 and £50,270.
Here’s a breakdown of the minimum contributions:

Employer: 3%
Employee: 5%
Total: 8%

The 5% employee contribution is typically made up of a 4% contribution from their salary, and a 1% tax relief contribution from the government.

Nick Stiven
clerk@stjohnswilton.org.uk

[Mandy]

Our charity is 5% for both. We only have two part time employees so doesn’t add up to a huge amount.

[Sarah Massey]

Ours is a match system. The employee can opt for 5, 6 or 7% for their own contribution and the employer will then match it. My feeling is that employers should be helping employees to retire with a reasonable standard of living. We may work for charities but we shouldn’t end up in need of charitable support ourselves!

[William Clemmey]

We offer an auto enrolment compatible pension scheme and staff are auto-enrolled into this upon completion of their probationary period. This will be back dated to their start date. The Charity’s current contribution rate is 6% of salary and the minimum contribution rate is 6%. The Charity will also match contributions up to 8%.
Staff can also undertake a salary sacrifice into their pension and the Charity will pay 10% of this figure as it is saving on National Insurance contributions. These amounts are calculated on the full salary plus any overtime pay received for being on call or for when covering the duties of another member of staff. Staff have the right to opt out of this pension scheme at any time.

All of the staff have taken the 8% matched option and 2 staff have also undertaken the salary sacrifice option

William Clemmey
chiefofficer@municipal-charities.org.uk

[Author]

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