If you use Penfold as your pension provider, you can integrate your processes using a direct API. To learn more, see Penfold's website.
Get the most out of UK Payroll
Connecting to Penfold means a lot less pension admin.
- UK Payroll automatically reports new hires enrolled into your pension scheme to Penfold.
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Penfold sends new hires a welcome pack with details of the scheme and instructions on opting-out, should employees wish.
Note: If an employee opts-out after payroll is confirmed, it will not be updated in UK Payroll and must be added manually in the next payroll cycle. UK Payroll won't automatically refund contributions once an employee has opted-out within the opt-out window. For more information, see Apply a pension refund.
- UK Payroll automatically reports leavers to Penfold.
- UK Payroll uploads the contribution file to Penfold on payday.
Before you begin
Contact Penfold before you set up this integration in UK Payroll. This enables UK Payroll to connect the accounts correctly.
- Make sure your pension scheme is set up in UK Payroll before connecting Penfold. To learn more, see Set up a pension scheme.
- UK Payroll's Employee ID is equivalent to the Penfold's External ID. Therefore, it's important to ensure all employee External IDs match their Employee IDs.
Note: The standard employee and employer contribution rates are determined by the Group settings defined in Penfold. Once Penfold and UK Payroll are integrated, allocate the correct group to each employee on the employee's profile. To learn more, see Enroll staff into a pension scheme.
How to connect to Penfold
- Contact Penfold and ask them to connect your Penfold account to Bob's Payroll API. Once they have confirmed the connection, set up the connection in UK Payroll.
- In UK Payroll, from the left side bar, navigate to Settings > Company > Pensions.
- Click Set up pension.
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Select Penfold or Penfold QE (to calculate on qualified earnings).
Note: Select Calculate on qualified earnings if you calculate pension contributions on earnings above the lower earnings limit but below the upper earnings limit. For more information, see The Pensions Regulator's Automatic enrolment earnings threshold.
- Enter your Employer ID.
- Enter your company's standard pension settings, the pension type (Net pay arrangement or Salary sacrifice) and the Default contributions.
- Click Save changes.
FAQs
Do I have to connect to API?
No, though we highly recommend you connect to Penfold through the API for your ease. However, if you don't want to connect UK Payroll to Penfold to send this information automatically, you must download your monthly PAPDIS file and upload this in your Penfold portal. To learn more, see Download your pension PAPDIS file.
Can I amend an employee's pension start date?
Please contact Support and give them the employee's name and their correct start date.
Does UK Payroll make payments to Penfold on our behalf?
No, UK Payroll doesn't make any direct payments to pension providers. For more information, see Penfold's Processing employee contributions.
Why are the figures on the Penfold portal different to the pension report?
Penfold delays some payments for new hires who are within their opt-out window. If the new hires are still in the scheme after their opt-out period has ended, Penfold will take payment on the next direct debit trigger.
If the difference is not related to any new hires, contact Support.
I'm trying to enroll an employee but it has failed.
Check that the key employee details are correct (employee ID, email address, and address are complete; address lines 1 and 2 don't exceed 35 characters; no special characters are used in names or addresses).
If these details are correct, log into your Penfold portal to check if the employee is already enrolled or active. If they are, contact Support to reset the pension record. Once reset, enroll the employee using the Already enrolled in provider option. For more detailed instructions, see Enroll staff into a pension scheme.