UK Workplace Pension Auto-enrolment (2026/27)
Auto-enrolment 2026/27: 3% employer plus 5% employee on the £6,240 to £50,270 band, with the actual figures at common salaries.
Under UK auto-enrolment rules, your employer must enrol you in a workplace pension if you are 22+ and earn over £10,000 a year. The statutory minimum contribution is 8% of qualifying earnings - 3% employer + 5% employee, applied to the slice of salary between £6,240 and £50,270. Many employers contribute more than the 3% statutory minimum.
Contribution amounts by salary
Statutory minimum on qualifying earnings (England rules, no other adjustments), treating the 5% as the gross amount going into the pension. The cost to take-home depends on how your scheme gives tax relief. Most workplace schemes use a net pay arrangement or relief at source, which relieve Income Tax only: National Insurance is still paid on your full pay. Under relief at source 80% of the contribution leaves your pay and the provider adds 20%; a higher-rate taxpayer then claims the rest back from HMRC, so after that claim the cost matches net pay at these salaries. Only salary sacrifice also saves employee NI.
| Gross salary | Qualifying earnings | Employer 3% | Employee 5% | Total (8%) | Cost: net pay or relief at source | Cost: salary sacrifice |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| £20,000 | £13,760 | £413 | £688 | £1,101 | £550 | £495 |
| £30,000 | £23,760 | £713 | £1,188 | £1,901 | £950 | £855 |
| £40,000 | £33,760 | £1,013 | £1,688 | £2,701 | £1,350 | £1,215 |
| £50,000 | £43,760 | £1,313 | £2,188 | £3,501 | £1,750 | £1,575 |
| £60,000 | £44,030 | £1,321 | £2,202 | £3,522 | £1,321 | £1,277 |
Eligibility thresholds 2026/27
- Earnings trigger: £10,000 a year - above this you must be auto-enrolled.
- Age range: 22 to State Pension Age.
- Lower Qualifying Earnings Threshold: £6,240 (start of contribution band).
- Upper Qualifying Earnings Threshold: £50,270 (end of contribution band; matches NI Upper Earnings Limit).
- Re-enrolment: opted-out staff must be re-enrolled every 3 years.
Thresholds per DWP's review of the automatic enrolment earnings trigger and qualifying earnings band for 2026/27 (18 December 2025). Opt-out and re-enrolment rules per gov.uk: Workplace pensions.
Related
Frequently asked questions
What is the UK auto-enrolment minimum contribution?
For 2026/27 the statutory minimum total is 8% of qualifying earnings - 3% from the employer and 5% from the employee. "Qualifying earnings" is the band between the lower limit (£6,240) and the upper limit (£50,270), both confirmed unchanged for 2026/27 by DWP's annual review. Many employers contribute more than the 3% statutory minimum either as policy or under collective bargaining.
Who must be auto-enrolled?
Employers must auto-enrol employees who are (a) aged 22 or over and below State Pension Age, (b) earning above £10,000 a year, and (c) working in the UK. Employees who opt out within a month of being enrolled get back what they have paid in. You can ask to opt back in, but the employer does not have to accept you if you have opted in and then out in the past 12 months. Employees below £10,000 but above £6,240 can request to opt in voluntarily, in which case the employer must still contribute.
How does qualifying earnings differ from full salary contributions?
Some employers calculate auto-enrolment contributions on the qualifying earnings band (£6,240 to £50,270 only), others on the full salary, or on basic salary excluding bonuses. The qualifying earnings approach is the statutory minimum benchmark; full-salary schemes are more generous (and produce higher pension pots over a career) but cost the employer more.
Can I opt out of the workplace pension?
Yes - if you opt out within a month of your employer adding you to the scheme, you get back any money you have already paid in. After that you can still stop contributing, but what has been paid in stays in the pension pot. Employers must automatically re-enrol opted-out employees who still qualify, every 3 years.
Is it ever a bad idea to stay in the workplace pension?
Almost never for working-age employees. The 3% employer contribution is "free money" that opt-outs forfeit, and the 5% employee contribution attracts Income Tax relief (often 20-42% depending on band). The only situations where opting out is sometimes considered: (a) high earners whose pension savings already use their annual allowance, where more would trigger the annual allowance charge, (b) needing every penny of take-home for short-term debt repayment at high interest rates.