Pension guide
How do workplace pensions and auto-enrolment work?
A workplace pension helps you save for retirement through your employer. If you meet the automatic-enrolment rules, your employer normally has to enrol you and make a contribution alongside your own.
Eligibility
Who is automatically enrolled?
Employers must automatically enrol eligible workers into a qualifying workplace pension. The detailed test includes age, earnings and where you ordinarily work.
For 2026/27, the annual earnings trigger for automatic enrolment is £10,000. Workers below that level may still have rights to opt in or join, depending on their earnings and circumstances.
Some employers provide more generous contribution rates or enrol staff under broader scheme rules.
Minimum contributions
The usual statutory minimum is 8% in total.
For many automatic-enrolment schemes using qualifying earnings, the minimum total contribution is 8%.
5% comes from the employee side, commonly including tax relief, and at least 3% is paid by the employer. A scheme can be more generous than this.
The precise way your own contribution is taken depends on the pension scheme and payroll method.
Qualifying earnings
The minimum percentage does not always apply to your whole salary.
For 2026/27, the qualifying earnings band is £6,240 to £50,270. In a scheme using this method, statutory minimum contributions are normally calculated on earnings within that band.
Some employers instead use a different pensionable-pay definition that meets the relevant certification requirements, so your contribution calculation may not look exactly like the qualifying-earnings example.
Lower qualifying-earnings limit
£6,240 a year for 2026/27.
Automatic-enrolment trigger
£10,000 a year for 2026/27.
Upper qualifying-earnings limit
£50,270 a year for 2026/27.
Minimum total contribution
Usually 8% for qualifying-earnings arrangements, including at least 3% from the employer.
Opting out
You can usually opt out, but understand what you are giving up.
An eligible worker who has been automatically enrolled can normally opt out within the statutory opt-out window and receive a refund of qualifying contributions already taken.
After that period, it may still be possible to stop contributing under the scheme rules, but the treatment of contributions already paid can differ.
Before opting out or reducing contributions, check exactly what your employer pays and whether any matching contribution would be lost.
Paying more
The legal minimum is not a retirement target.
Automatic enrolment is designed to get people saving, but the minimum contribution level may or may not be enough for the retirement you want.
Some employers match higher employee contributions up to a limit. If your employer offers matching, increasing your own contribution can sometimes result in a larger employer contribution too.
Any decision to pay more should still take account of affordability, tax rules, annual allowances and other financial priorities.
Changing jobs
Your old workplace pension normally remains yours.
When you leave an employer, the pension you have already built up does not disappear. It normally remains invested under the scheme rules unless you later transfer or take benefits when eligible.
A new employer will generally provide its own workplace pension arrangement if you meet the relevant eligibility rules.
Before transferring, compare charges, investments, guarantees, protected rights and any other valuable features in the existing scheme.
Personal pension planning
Want to know whether your workplace pension contributions are on track?
A personal pension review can consider your contribution rate, employer contribution, investments and the retirement outcome you are working towards.
Book a conversationThis guide is for general information only and is not personal financial or tax advice. Workplace pension and automatic-enrolment rules can change. Content checked against current GOV.UK, The Pensions Regulator and MoneyHelper information for 2026/27 on 15 September 2026.