Errors in the calculation of pension contributions under Net Pay Arrangements
FOI reference - FOI-406
Date - 18 August 2025
Request
I am seeking information held by The Pensions Regulator regarding errors in the calculation of pension contributions under Net Pay Arrangements. Specifically, I request:
- Details of any disclosures, complaints, or reports made to The Pensions Regulator relating to miscalculations or errors in Net Pay Arrangements over the last five years.
- Information on any investigations or regulatory actions taken in response to such disclosures.
- Any guidance or communications issued by The Pensions Regulator to pension providers or employers regarding the correct calculation and reporting of contributions under Net Pay Arrangements.
Response
Point 1 – Disclosures, Complaints, or Reports:
Under section 12 of the Freedom of Information Act (FoIA), public authorities are not obliged to comply with a request for information where the cost of doing so would exceed the appropriate limit in the Fees Regulations, which for TPR is set at £450. Staff costs are fixed at £25 per person per hour, representing the estimated cost of one person spending 18 hours determining whether we hold the information, locating, retrieving, and extracting it.
In line with section 12 of the FoIA we are not able to confirm whether the requested information is held because it would take us 2,250 hours to ascertain this. In excess of TPR's 18 hour @ 25ph applicable cost limit.
This has been calculated as reviewing 27,000 records held on our systems at 5 minutes per document. As this is in excess of the applicable cost limit this aspect of your request will not be processed further.
Point 2 – Investigations or Regulatory Actions:
This part of your request is dependent on the existence of relevant complaints or disclosures under point 1. We neither confirm nor deny whether such information is held. If any information of this nature were held, it is likely to be exempt from disclosure under section 44(1) and/or (2) of the FoIA. You are welcome to refine or narrow your request, though we anticipate that this is unlikely to change the outcome.
Point 3 – Guidance or Communications:
I can confirm that we hold this information. However, it is exempt from disclosure under Section 21 of the FoIA. This is because the information is accessible to you, as it is already in the public domain.
Duty to assist:
Further to the duty to provide advice and assistance, it is ultimately the responsibility of the employer to ensure that correct contributions and method of tax relief has been applied. There is no employer duty relating specifically to Net Pay Arrangements (NPAs). We would encourage complaints be made directly to an employer or pension scheme provider through their formal complaints procedure. Complaints could also be made to The Pensions Ombudsman (TPO), if you are unsatisfied with any resolution.
You may find submitting a freedom of information request to TPO could potentially provide you with information relating to this matter.
For further information regarding your request, please refer to the following links on our website.