Guernsey mandatory secondary pensions set for July 2024

Secondary pensions for Guernsey were approved by States members in November 2022

Employers in Guernsey and Alderney will begin mandatory contributions into employee pension pots from July 2024.

The original date of January 2024 was put back to give businesses more time to prepare for the change.

The Committee for Employment & Social Security confirmed the Your Island Pension (YIP) scheme would also be available voluntarily from January.

Secondary pensions for Guernsey were approved by States members in November 2022.

'Good quality of life'

The YIP will be governed independently by Sovereign Pension Services (CI) Limited and separate from other States functions.

Employers with 26 or more employees will be required to enrol staff into an approved secondary pension, followed by smaller employers "over the following 15 months".

Employees will have the option to opt out of the arrangements if they choose to.

The States said the aim of the scheme was to "ensure islanders have a good quality of life in their later years" by giving them the "opportunity to save more now" before retirement.

'Paramount importance'

It said estimates found about 65% of the island's employed working age population were not making "any personal pension provision", and hoped the scheme would reduce the demand on tax-funded income support for retired islanders.

President of the committee, Deputy Peter Roffey, said secondary pensions were of "paramount importance" for the future of Guernsey.

"By encouraging working age people to save more for their retirement, we aim to avoid the prospect of a major problem with pensioner poverty whilst also maintaining a sustainable welfare budget in the long-term," he said.

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