Automatic enrolment duties for small employers
Every UK employer must put staff into a workplace pension if they are aged between 22 and State Pension age, earn at least £10,000 a year and normally work in the UK. For 2026 to 2027 the employer pays at least 3% of qualifying earnings, which are earnings between £6,240 and £50,270 a year, and the total paid in must be at least 8%. For an employee on £30,000 that is £712.80 a year from the employer and £1,900.80 in total. The thresholds were held at their 2025 to 2026 levels.
Figures checked 30 October 2026.
Who you must enrol
- Aged between 22 and State Pension age
- Earning at least £10,000 a year, or £768 every four weeks
- Normally working in the UK, including staff based in the UK who travel abroad for work
- You write to each employee within 6 weeks of the day they meet these conditions
Minimum contributions at 2026 to 2027 thresholds
| Salary | Qualifying earnings | Employer at 3% | Total at 8% | Employee share of the total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| £18,000 | £11,760 | £352.80 | £940.80 | £588 |
| £30,000 | £23,760 | £712.80 | £1,900.80 | £1,188 |
| £60,000 | £44,030 | £1,320.90 | £3,522.40 | £2,201.50 |
Qualifying earnings are earnings between £6,240 and £50,270 a year before tax, including bonuses, commission, overtime and statutory pay. Some schemes use a different definition of pensionable pay.
Deadlines and records
Write to the employee
Each employee who meets the conditions is told they have been enrolled.
Pay contributions
Contributions reach the scheme by the 22nd of the following month, or the 19th if you pay by cheque.
Refund opt-outs
An employee who opts out within the opt-out window gets their contributions back within one month.
Re-enrol and re-declare
Staff who left the scheme are put back in, and you complete a re-declaration of compliance even if nobody is re-enrolled.
Keep records
Names, addresses, contribution dates and scheme reference; requests to leave the scheme are kept for 4 years.
Fines from The Pensions Regulator
An employer that ignores a compliance notice can receive a fixed penalty of £400. If it still does not comply by the new deadline, an escalating penalty runs at a daily rate of £50 to £10,000 until it does. Missed and late contributions have to be backdated.
Changes the law already allows
The Pensions (Extension of Automatic Enrolment) Act 2023 gives the government power to lower the starting age from 22 to 18 and to make contributions start from the first pound earned, instead of from £6,240. Both need regulations before they take effect, and the House of Commons Library records that no start date has been set.
Separately, from 6 April 2029 salary sacrificed into a pension above £2,000 a year pays National Insurance. The £2,000 salary sacrifice cap
Payroll and pensions from Buzz Accounting
Buzz Accounting runs payroll for small employers, including automatic enrolment, contributions and re-enrolment. Ask on the form at the foot of this page, or see Buzz Accounting.
Common questions
Do I have to enrol a director?
A director without a contract of employment is always exempt, according to The Pensions Regulator, and a company whose only worker is a single director has no duties. A director with a contract is enrolled like any other employee once at least one other person also has a contract with the company. A company with no duties should tell The Pensions Regulator it is not an employer.
Can an employer pay more than 3%?
Yes. 3% of qualifying earnings is the minimum. Many employers pay more, or pay the whole 8%.
What happens if an employee opts out?
If they opt out within the opt-out window, you refund their contributions within one month. You put them back in at the next re-enrolment date if they still meet the conditions.
Will the starting age drop to 18?
The law allows it, but regulations are needed first and no date has been set.
Sources
- GOV.UK: workplace pensions, what employers must do
- GOV.UK: how to set up a workplace pension scheme
- GOV.UK: manage your workplace pension scheme
- The Pensions Regulator: earnings thresholds
- The Pensions Regulator: phasing for pension, payroll and software providers
- The Pensions Regulator: how we enforce
- The Pensions Regulator: directors and automatic enrolment
- GOV.UK: review of the automatic enrolment earnings trigger and qualifying earnings band for 2026/27
- Pensions (Extension of Automatic Enrolment) Act 2023
- House of Commons Library: automatic enrolment, current issues
Related guides
Guides for employers
- Financial wellbeing cost per employee in the UK
- Employee financial wellbeing for small businesses
- Financial coaching for employees
- Is employer-paid financial coaching a taxable benefit?
- The £500 pensions advice exemption for employers
- What the 2029 salary sacrifice cap costs employers
- Employee financial wellbeing survey questions
- Earned wage access and salary advances for employees
- Supporting employees through life changes
- How to set up a financial wellbeing programme
- Financial wellbeing policy template
- Financial wellbeing providers' prices compared
- Salary sacrifice calculator
- Benefit or pay rise calculator