Every employer must put eligible staff (aged 22 to State Pension age, earning over £10,000 a year and working in the UK) into a qualifying workplace pension, pay at least 3% of their qualifying earnings with a total minimum contribution of 8%, and declare compliance to The Pensions Regulator within five months of the duties start date. The duties begin the day the first member of staff starts work and repeat through re enrolment every three years. For 2026 to 2027 the thresholds are frozen at their 2025 to 2026 levels.

When do the duties start?

GOV.UK says employers must provide a workplace pension scheme for eligible staff from the day their first member of staff starts working for them, called the duties start date. You are usually an employer if you deduct tax and National Insurance from someone’s wages. So a business taking on its first employee has duties from that employee’s first day, and the declaration of compliance deadline runs from then.

Which workers must be enrolled?

The Pensions Act 2008 sorts workers into groups, using earnings in the relevant pay reference period rather than an annual figure.

Group Who Employer duty
Eligible jobholder Aged at least 22 and under State Pension age, earnings above the earnings trigger, working or ordinarily working in Great Britain (section 3) Enrol automatically and pay employer contributions
Non eligible jobholder Aged 16 to 74 with qualifying earnings, but not meeting the age or earnings trigger tests for automatic enrolment (sections 1 and 7) Enrol on request (opt in) and pay employer contributions
Worker without qualifying earnings Aged 16 to 74 with earnings at or below the lower level of qualifying earnings (section 9) Arrange pension membership on request; no employer contribution required

Staff who become eligible because of a birthday or a pay rise must be put into the scheme and written to within six weeks of the day they meet the criteria.

Thresholds for 2026 to 2027

Threshold Annual Monthly Weekly Four weekly
Lower level of qualifying earnings £6,240 £520 £120 £480
Earnings trigger £10,000 £833 £192 £768
Upper level of qualifying earnings £50,270 £4,189 £967 £3,867

Because the test uses the pay period figure, a worker on a low annual salary can become eligible in a single month with a bonus or overtime that takes pay above £833.

How much must be paid in?

The legal minimum since April 2019 is an employer contribution of 3% and a total of 8% of qualifying earnings, with the employee making up the balance. In most schemes qualifying earnings are total earnings between £6,240 and £50,270 a year, and include salary or wages, bonuses and commission, overtime, Statutory Sick Pay and statutory maternity, paternity, adoption, shared parental, parental bereavement and neonatal care pay. An employer can pay more than 3%, and in some schemes the employee may then pay less, provided the total minimum is met. Some schemes calculate contributions on all pay instead of qualifying earnings; the scheme rules decide.

GOV.UK says contributions deducted from pay must reach the scheme by the 22nd day of the following month (the 19th if paying by cheque), and employers must pay by the date agreed with the provider each time payroll runs. Missed payments must be backdated, and late or short payment can lead to fines.

Worked example

Illustration only. Jo earns £2,000 a month and is an eligible jobholder in a scheme using qualifying earnings.

  • Qualifying earnings for the month: £2,000 minus £520 = £1,480.
  • Minimum employer contribution at 3%: £44.40.
  • Minimum total at 8%: £118.40, so Jo’s share is £74.00.

In a relief at source scheme, part of Jo’s share comes from basic rate tax relief added by the government, so less is taken from net pay. Tax relief methods are covered on our page on pension contributions and tax relief.

Can enrolment be postponed?

Yes. Section 4 of the Pensions Act 2008 lets an employer give a worker notice deferring automatic enrolment to a deferral date up to three months after the starting day. The starting day is the duties start date, the day a new worker starts, or the day an existing worker first becomes an eligible jobholder. If the worker is an eligible jobholder on the deferral date, they must be enrolled then.

How do opting out, opting in and leaving work?

  • A worker who asks to leave within one month of joining (the opt out window) must have their contributions refunded within one month.
  • A worker who leaves after the window can stop contributing, and the employer must take them out within one month of the request; contributions already paid stay in the pension.
  • Any worker can ask to join. The employer must check eligibility and enrol them within one month of the request.

Section 54 of the Pensions Act 2008 prohibits any action taken for the sole or main purpose of inducing a worker to give up membership or opt out. Any incentive to opt out, however informal, is a compliance risk. Staff who exchange pay for employer pension contributions through salary sacrifice remain members; the issue there is the National Minimum Wage floor.

What are the declaration and re enrolment duties?

The Pensions Regulator says the declaration of compliance is a legal duty and must be completed within five months after the duties start date. It records how many staff were employed on that date, how many were enrolled and the pension scheme reference. Accountants and advisers can complete it on the employer’s behalf, but the legal responsibility stays with the employer.

Every three years after the duties start date the employer must re enrol eligible staff who left the scheme more than 12 months before the re enrolment date, or who are paying below the minimum contribution. Staff who left 12 months or less before that date may be re enrolled or left until the next cycle. Staff must be written to within six weeks after the re enrolment date, and a re declaration of compliance is required every time, even if nobody was re enrolled.

What records must be kept and what are the penalties?

Records of enrolled staff names and addresses, contributions paid, requests to join or leave and the pension scheme reference must be kept for six years, except opt out requests, which must be kept for four years. Employers must also track ages and earnings so they spot when staff become eligible.

The Pensions Regulator can issue statutory notices directing compliance and payment of missed contributions, with interest. Failure to comply can bring a fixed penalty of £400 and an escalating penalty of £50 to £10,000 per day depending on the number of staff. A civil penalty of up to £5,000 for individuals and £50,000 for organisations can apply for failure to pay contributions. Deliberately failing to enrol staff or knowingly giving false information in a declaration can lead to prosecution. A review of a notice must be requested within 28 days.

What mistakes do employers make?

  • Testing eligibility on annual salary instead of pay in each pay reference period.
  • Missing a worker’s 22nd birthday or a pay rise that crosses the trigger.
  • Forgetting the re declaration because no one needed re enrolling.
  • Paying contributions late or not backdating missed months.
  • Assuming Statutory Sick Pay periods stop pension deductions; in most schemes SSP counts as qualifying earnings.

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Reviewed by Christine Anderson, Broker, Solar Protect. Last reviewed 8 October 2026. Part of Accountapedia, the Solar Protect guide to UK tax and accounting. This page is general information, not personalised advice.