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Ways of accruing pension benefits

There are a variety of possible pension arrangements for employees. The main options include:

1. •

   occupational pension schemes

2. •

   personal pension schemes

3. •

   employer-financed retirement benefits schemes (EFRBS)

4. •

   master trusts (including the national employment savings trust (NEST) since October 2012)

5. •

   the state pension

Employees may be members of and contribute to more than one pension arrangement at the same time eg the employer's occupational pension scheme and the employee's own personal pension scheme.

Occupational pension schemes

From a legislative point of view, an occupational pension scheme:

1. •

   is a scheme or other arrangements which provides benefits to or in respect of people:

   1. â—¦

      on retirement

   2. â—¦

      on having reached a particular age, or

   3. â—¦

      on termination of service in an employment

2. •

   must have been established for the purpose of providing benefits to, or in respect of, people with service in employments of a particular description (and perhaps also for other people too)

3. •

   must have been established by:

   1. â—¦

      an employer of people in employments of that description,