A hassle-free workplace pension you and your employees will love

Employers pay nothing for a workplace pension with Cushon.

Members pay a transparent fee, which includes two charges: a fund management charge and a platform charge. The fund management charge is 0.15% annually for employees who leave us manage their investments (most members do) using the Cushon Sustainable Investment Strategy. If they choose their own investments, the charge varies. The platform charge is 0.54%.

Yes, Cushon Master Trust is a fully compliant, qualifying workplace pension scheme. While you, as an employer, are responsible for legal compliance, we assist by providing timely emails, online resources, and troubleshooting to help you meet your regulatory requirements.

Yes! Big or small, all are welcome. We provide workplace pensions to everyone from solopreneurs to large corporations. All we ask is that your organisation is formed of one legal entity with one Companies House Registration Number.

You can get started in around 15 to 30 minutes. And you can do it all online, whenever it's convenient.

We need information that you will already know about you and your organisation, who will be running your workplace pension, and when you want it to start. This includes things like:

- Company registration number

- Number of employees

- Authorised signatory

- Desired contribution rates

- Current payroll software

Very! Cushon Master Trust is authorised, regulated and subject to ongoing supervision by The Pensions Regulator.

All pension assets are held in trust for the benefit of members and overseeb by an independent board of trustees. This means increased protection for members and their pension savings.

Cushon uses a net pay arrangement for any contributions made outside of salary exchange.

A net pay arrangement means we take your contribution straight from your employees' pay before the tax and national insurance deductions. This way, the income tax on their take-home pay is reduced. Each employees' full contribution will be collected upfront, and the tax relief is instantly granted at their highest tax rate. This way, there's no need for them to complete a tax return.

We do not offer relief at source arrangement.

Even though pensions are one of your biggest employee spends, most employees don't value them. That's because most pensions don't do enough to engage employees. But NatWest Cushon turns that around. We make your pension a key employee benefit, through investments they care about, financial education, and digital access instead of reams of paper. It's a better experience for them and better value for you.

It's fairly straightforward. You can apply in about 15 to 30 minutes by telling us a bit about your company, employees and current pension plan.

Next, we'll create a participation agreement and send it electronically through Signable. You'll also set up a Direct Debit mandate for pension contributions. And if you don't already use net pay for pension contributions, you may need to work with your payroll provider to set that up.

It usually takes about 10 weeks to set up your pension and get ready to launch it to your team.

From the moment you sign up, we keep you in the know with clear, step-by-step instructions and timelines, sharing guides and contact details to help you stay on track. If you have any questions, you can raise a support ticket here or give us a call at 0345 463 1839. We are available Monday to Friday (9am - 5pm BST).

By default, money saved in a previous pension remains with the original provider, while all future contributions go into a new Cushon pension account.

However, Cushon makes it easy for employees to transfer their previous pension pots (including from previous jobs) into their new Cushon account using the Cushon app. They can do this as soon as your scheme launches.

No. You get to decide which pension scheme you enrol your employees onto, although you may need to have a consultation period before changing provider.

Employees have the option to opt out of the scheme if they don't want you to provide a pension for them.

You'll have access to an online hub full of guides, videos, FAQs and troubleshooting. Admin will be a breeze! We'll also keep in touch regularly to share what you need when you need it, from customisable templates and launch comms to employees webinars and education.

Our engagement team will also be available to answer your queries, plus you can get get help online or speak to an expert from our UK-based support centre.

We will engage with your employees at the key moments that matter throughout their journey.

When you auto-enrol an employee:
We’ll send them a notice about their status, letting them know they’ve been added to the scheme, what happens next and how they can opt-out. 

When your pension scheme goes live:
We’ll send them a personalised welcome pack to introduce their pension plan, outline key details and benefits, and explain how to manage it. We'll also share a link to download the Cushon app, which gives them full visibility of their pot and really easy ways to make the most of it

When you pay into their pension:
We’ll always send an email to let them know, showcasing the investment you make in your people and giving them a chance to engage with their pension. 

If your employees need support, we make it easy to get help online in our member help centre, and it's easy to speak to a human if they'd prefer.

We make all our own tech, and that makes integration super easy. We already work with a variety of payroll providers, who've set up the data file reports we need as useable templates. You can find more information on compatible data formats here.