diff --git a/server/users/User.coffee b/server/users/User.coffee
index 29d0d0a1f..7b9669ee2 100644
--- a/server/users/User.coffee
+++ b/server/users/User.coffee
@@ -16,13 +16,13 @@ UserSchema.pre('init', (next) ->
   return next() unless jsonschema.properties?
   for prop, sch of jsonschema.properties
     @set(prop, sch.default) if sch.default?
+  @set('permissions', ['admin']) if not isProduction
   next()
 )
 
 UserSchema.post('init', ->
   @set('anonymous', false) if @get('email')
   @currentSubscriptions = JSON.stringify(@get('emailSubscriptions'))
-  @set('permissions', ['admin']) if not isProduction
 )
 
 UserSchema.methods.isAdmin = ->