Help centre
Pension contribution timelines and the investment process

Why does it take 8 to 10 days?

When you submit a contribution or when an automated payment run begins, the money doesn’t land in your employees' investment portfolios instantly. The entire journey typically takes between 8 and 10 working days from start to finish.

Here is a the daily breakdown:

  • Days 1-2 - initiation: Contribution details are locked, and the payment process begins.
  • Days 3-7 - bank clearance: The money is requested and securely transferred from your bank to the pension scheme via Direct Debit.
  • Day 8 - processing: The payment is successfully received and marked as paid.
  • Days 8-10 - investment: The money is used to purchase investments, which then appear in your employees' accounts.

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The ‘one payment at a time’ rule

Our platform can only process one payment run at a time per employer. This is because the process involves locked contribution files, banking clearance, and specific market trading cycles.

What this means for you

Any in-progress payment will effectively ‘knock out’ your ability to start another payment process.If you have a submission that is currently processing, you will not be able to initiate a new payment until the current payment has been received, which is usually day 8 of the timeline.

How to keep your payments moving smoothly

To avoid unexpected delays, we recommend the following best practices:

  • Stick to a regular schedule: Align your submissions closely with your monthly payroll dates to ensure one month's cycle clears cleanly before the next one is due.
  • Review before submitting: Double-check your contribution files before clicking 'Pay Now' or allowing the automated run to start, as edits cannot be made once the cycle is initiated.

Plan ahead for off-cycle payments

if you need to make additional adjustments or supplementary contributions, wait until your primary monthly run has fully updated to Invested on the platform.

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