To opt in to The People's Pension, give your employer a signed written request; what your employer must then do, including whether it pays in, depends on your age and earnings.

There is no personal sign-up route for most employees: joining, opting in or rejoining goes through your employer, and you join The People's Pension only if it is the scheme your employer uses. This guide sets out which group you fall into, what to put in writing, what happens if you have left before and the three-year re-enrolment cycle. Not sure which worker group the rules put you in? An FCA-authorised adviser can place you from your pay and age. Use the form on this page for the free call-back.

Which group are you in, and what can you ask for?

The Pensions Regulator (TPR) sorts staff by age and earnings. Eligible jobholders are put in automatically. For everyone else TPR sets out a right to ask. Its guide for business advisers says that for a worker who has the right to opt in, "If they ask to be put into a pension scheme, the employer must put them in a pension scheme that can be used for automatic enrolment and pay regular contributions." That group is called non-eligible jobholders.

The lowest-paid group are entitled workers, and TPR says: "If they ask, the employer must provide a pension scheme for them, but the employer doesn’t have to pay contributions into a pension scheme." TPR adds that the scheme used for a joining worker need not be an automatic enrolment one, so it may not be The People's Pension. TPR's earnings thresholds page gives, for 2026/27, an earnings trigger of £10,000 a year and lower qualifying earnings of £6,240 a year; entitled workers earn at or below the lower figure.

The People's Pension says the same in its own words for employers: "All employees aged 16-74 have the right to opt in or join a pension scheme by using an opt-in or joining notice." Who falls where, including the age limits and the self-employed, is covered in who is eligible for The People's Pension, and the wider auto-enrolment rules are in the workplace pension rules guide.

How do you ask to opt in or join?

Put it in writing to your employer, not to the pension provider. TPR's guidance says "The notice given by the jobholder or entitled worker must be in writing but does not have to be a formal document. It can be a letter or an email." The People's Pension adds that the notice must be signed, and that an email "must include a statement from the employee confirming that they personally submitted the notice" (People's Pension employer FAQ, archived copy captured 18 May 2026).

The provider also says it does not handle these requests. Its FAQ says "we don’t handle opt-in notices directly and will not retain them when sent in error", and that it directs employees back to their employer. Once the notice is valid, the same FAQ says your employer can usually enrol you through payroll.

Membership does not start the day you write. For an opt-in, TPR sets the enrolment date as the first day of the next pay reference period after your employer receives the notice (or the one after, if that payroll has closed), and enrolment must be completed within six weeks of it.

Rejoining after you have left the scheme

TPR says an eligible jobholder "who has been automatically enrolled but subsequently opted out or ceased membership, also has the right to opt back in to an automatic enrolment pension scheme."

There is a limit on repeats. TPR's wording is that an employer is not required to act "if the notice is given within 12 months of a previous opt-in notice and the worker has subsequently stopped membership", though "they can choose to if they wish". The People's Pension's member page says that if you want to rejoin more than once in 12 months, your employer will need to agree (archived copy captured 18 April 2026).

An old pot from a previous job is a separate matter: see what happens to a workplace pension when you leave.

Re-enrolment every three years

TPR tells employers: "Every three years, you need to assess certain staff including those who previously left (opted out or ceased active membership) your pension scheme, to work out if you need to put them back into your scheme." The People's Pension puts it plainly for members: "Every 3 years, your employer must re-enrol all eligible staff who’ve opted out of the pension scheme." It lists the conditions as being from 22 up to State Pension age, earning over £10,000, working ordinarily in the UK, and having opted out more than 12 months ago.

The provider says there is nothing you need to do: your employer will tell you, and it then processes your contributions. You can choose to opt out again if you want to. For the full rules on leaving, see the workplace pension opt-out guide.

What happens to your money if you opt out again?

It depends on how soon you leave. TPR says jobholders who want to opt out "have one month, from and including the first day of the opt-out period, to complete a valid opt-out notice". Inside that period the employer must refund contributions deducted from your pay, and you are treated as if you had never been a member. The People's Pension FAQ says that for the first 42 days it holds your contributions without investing them, "so we can refund you if you opt out of the scheme in the first month".

After the month, TPR says you "will not be able to opt out" and must instead cease active membership under the scheme rules. Whether anything is then refunded depends on the scheme and how long you have been in it; the opt-out guide sets out TPR's conditions. Pots can fall as well as rise, so you may get back less than has been paid in.

To weigh the take-home pay you keep against the employer money you give up, read is a workplace pension worth it, and the minimum contribution guide for the usual split.

Questions people ask about joining

Can I sign up to The People's Pension myself?

Not directly if you work for an employer: the provider directs opt-in notices back to the employer, who chooses and sets up the scheme. Self-employed readers should see the eligibility guide.

Will my employer have to contribute if I opt in?

TPR says yes for a non-eligible jobholder, who must be put in a scheme with regular employer contributions. For an entitled worker it says the employer need not pay.

Can my employer refuse?

TPR says there are exceptions, for example if you have already given or been given notice to leave the job. An employer can accept a repeat request within 12 months if they choose. Thinking of rejoining after time out? The enquiry form here asks for a call-back; the adviser who rings, authorised by the FCA, can go over your options, free.

I am a young worker: can I still ask?

The People's Pension says employees from 16 have the right to ask. Younger workers have their own guide: workplace pensions for young workers.

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