UK Act of Parliament 2008 United Kingdom

Pensions Act 2008

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At a glance

Enforced by

TPR

What's here

11 compliance obligations, 16 practical guides across 4 topics · 18 journeys · 1 statutory instrument

Penalty landscape

2 of 11 obligations carry a fine up to £50,000. 4 carry different penalties and 5 have no criminal penalty — flagged in the list below.

Who this Act binds

Business-side actors with duties under this Act, ranked by how often they appear.

  • Employer 5
  • Any Person 1
  • Director or Officer 1

Plus 4 non-business duties on Crown ministers, regulators, local authorities or tribunals — shown collapsed under each section below.

Step-by-step journeys using this legislation

Walkthroughs that take you from a real business situation to compliance.

Relevant guidance

Practical guides for businesses affected by this Act, ordered by how closely they engage with it.

Direct — cites this Act

10 guides

Supporting — topic alignment

3 guides

Mentioned in related content

3 guides
View all 16 guides →

Other Acts binding the same actors

For each actor bound by this Act, the other UK Acts that bind them most often. Useful for understanding the full compliance landscape facing each role.

Employers also bound by 171 other Acts (top 5 shown)
Any Person also bound by 749 other Acts (top 5 shown)
Directors and Officers also bound by 224 other Acts (top 5 shown)

What this Act requires

Sections that create concrete duties on businesses or carry penalties. Procedural and definitional sections are folded into the “Browse other sections” expander at the bottom of each group. Click any section title to read the source text on legislation.gov.uk.

Part 1 — Pension scheme membership for jobholders

s.035

Compliance notices

Fine up to £50,000
  • Fail to comply with a Pensions Regulator compliance notice Employer
s.067

Duty to establish a pension scheme

Other duties (1) — Crown / regulator
  • Secretary of State must establish a national workplace pension scheme Crown / Minister / Government department
s.068

Scheme orders: general

Other duties (1) — Crown / regulator
  • Secretary of State must ensure the trustee corporation is appointed to the scheme Crown / Minister / Government department
s.069

Consultation of members and employers

Other duties (1) — Crown / regulator
  • Secretary of State must require consultation arrangements for the scheme Crown / Minister / Government department
Browse 93 other sections in this Part — procedural / definitional / commencement
s.015

Power to specify rounded figures

s.023

Alternative quality requirements for UK defined benefits schemes

s.087

Power to create exceptions from the employer duties etc

s.099

Money purchase benefits: supplementary

Part 2 — Simplification etc

Part 3 — Pension compensation

Part 4 — Financial assistance scheme

Browse 1 other section in this Part — procedural / definitional / commencement

Part 5 — Miscellaneous

Browse 8 other sections in this Part — procedural / definitional / commencement

Part 6 — General

Browse 7 other sections in this Part — procedural / definitional / commencement
s.144

Service of documents and electronic working

Schedules

s.003

Consolidation of additional pension

Other duties (1) — Crown / regulator
  • Secretary of State must calculate revalued additional pension amounts Crown / Minister / Government department
Browse 10 other Schedules — structural / supplementary
Read the full Act on legislation.gov.uk (opens in a new tab)

Official guidance

Authoritative sources published by regulators or government explaining this legislation.

Enforcement and responsible bodies

The regulators that administer or enforce this legislation.

TPR

The Pensions Regulator

Regulates workplace pensions, defined benefit schemes, and master trusts. All employers must auto-enrol eligible workers into a workplace pension. Enforces employer duties …

Connected legislation

1 statutory instrument

These instruments amend, apply, or refer to this Act. They may not all create direct business obligations.

Explore more

Browse legislation

Find other UK business legislation with related guidance.

Regulators

Learn more about the bodies that enforce this legislation.