OSPS APEs: New Employees and Prospective Members

All eligible employees and prospective members should be issued with the information pack Information pack for new and prospective employees (INF1) form (21kb) . This should include:

Application to join (APP1) form (62kb)
Member’s wishes concerning disposal of Death in Service lump sum (NOM1) form (23kb)
Inquire into transferral from a previous pension arrangement (TVIN1) form (19kb)
Request for AVC information (AVC1) form (72kb)
General Information Summary (INFSH) (112kb)

One-to-one appointments are available to individuals wishing to discuss the costs and benefits of membership of the scheme.

New employees

All new eligible employees should be entered into the scheme immediately unless they sign  Election not to join OSPS (during first 3 months of service) (OPT1A) form (84kb).

If you have a policy of not admitting employees at a later date if they opt out, then you should inform them of this before they sign the opt-out form.

Please ask the new employee to complete their personal details on form APP1 and sign and date the form, confirming that they agree to the scheme rules, contributions and data protection requirements.

Proof of age and any name change(s) need to be verified on behalf of the scheme before any benefits can be paid out and it is usually easier to produce this at the outset rather than the day the benefits are due. We require sight of the following original documents or you can confirm that you have seen them:

  • Birth certificate or

  • Passport

It would be helpful to have witnessed copies of the following if the member has changed their name since birth:

  • Marriage certificate

  • Decree absolute

  • Deed poll

Please complete and sign the employer part of the form on behalf of the employer:

  • the date of joining OSPS should be the same as the date employment started;

  • we must have the hours worked, whole time equivalent (WTE) hours worked and WTE salary for all new members.

Please encourage new members to complete Member’s wishes concerning disposal of Death in Service lump sum (NOM1) form (23kb) .

All forms should be sent to the Pensions Office as soon as possible. We will then send a letter to the member confirming their membership of the scheme and enclosing a copy of the Explanatory Booklet.

What should happen if an eligible employee decides to join or rejoin the scheme at a later date?

If you allow employees to join or rejoin at a later date, you should follow the same process as above.

Please note that if the date of joining OSPS differs from the date employment started, the member is signing up as a late entrant. It should be clarified that late entrants are subject to special terms and conditions if they die or retire on the grounds of ill health from a condition known to them at the time of joining the scheme.

What should happen if an employee is transferring from another Associated Participating Employer or University Department?

Please follow the same process as above. The previous employer should be noted on the form so that OSPS can trace the previous record. Proof of age may have been verified before and a note to this effect can be added to the form so that we can check that this does not need to be produced again.

For membership to be classed as continuous, the scheme allows a break in service of no more than a month. After a month’s gap, we will set up a new record alongside the previous record. Please cross-reference the leavers section for more information.

What should happen if the eligible employee chooses not to join the scheme within the first 3 months of employment?

The new employee should complete Election not to join OSPS (during first 3 months of service) (OPT1A) form (84kb).

Please ensure that a signature and date are obtained from the employee. Please countersign on behalf of the employer and send the form to the Pensions Office.

If you have already sent form APP1 to the Pensions Office you can refund both the employee and employer contributions through the payroll. Please tick the box to say that you have done this.

What should happen if the eligible employee chooses to opt out after the first 3 months of employment?

Please refer to the opt out section.