Auto enrolment re enrolment every three years

Roughly every three years an employer must put back into its workplace pension any eligible staff who opted out, left the scheme or cut their contributions below the legal minimum, and then file a re declaration of compliance with The Pensions Regulator. The re declaration is compulsory even if nobody needed to be put back, and it is due within five months of the third anniversary of the duties start date (or of the previous re enrolment date).

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What is re enrolment and why does it exist?

Automatic enrolment lets workers opt out, but the law does not let that choice stand forever. Section 5 of the Pensions Act 2008 requires the employer to make arrangements for certain jobholders to become active members of an automatic enrolment scheme again with effect from the automatic re enrolment date. The Pensions Regulator (TPR) describes two versions of the duty in its detailed guidance no. 11:

Cyclical re enrolment, which happens broadly every three years and covers people who chose to leave or reduce their contributions.
Immediate re enrolment, which applies when someone’s membership ends for a reason that was not their own choice, for example because the employer changed the scheme rules or the scheme stopped being a qualifying scheme for that person.

This page concentrates on the three yearly cycle. The underlying enrolment duties, contribution rates and declaration of compliance are covered in our guide to auto enrolment employer duties.

When is my re enrolment date?

For the first cycle, TPR’s guidance says the employer can choose any date in a six month window that starts three months before the third anniversary of its staging date or duties start date and ends three months after it. For later cycles the window is built around the third anniversary of the previous re enrolment date. A few practical points from detailed guidance no. 11:

The re enrolment date is a single employer level date. You cannot use one date for monthly paid staff and another for weekly paid staff.
It is the date membership starts for anyone re enrolled, the start of the six week period for completing the process, and the date from which contributions are calculated.
Postponement cannot be used at re enrolment, so choosing the first day of a pay reference period avoids part period contribution calculations.

The choice of date does not move the filing deadline. TPR is explicit that the re declaration deadline stays at five months after the third anniversary of the duties start date even if you assess staff on a later date in the window.

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Which staff must be put back into the scheme?

Unlike the original staging or duties start assessment, the employer does not need to assess the whole workforce. TPR says you must assess staff who:

opted out of the scheme;
left the scheme (ceased active membership) after the opt out period ended; or
stayed in but reduced their contributions below the minimum level.

You can leave out anyone who, on the re enrolment date, is already an active member of a qualifying scheme, is aged 21 or under, is at or over State Pension age, or has not yet had an automatic enrolment date (for example a worker who has never met the eligibility criteria, or who is currently postponed).

Of the people you assess, anyone aged between 22 and State Pension age who earns more than the earnings trigger must be re enrolled. TPR currently states the trigger as £10,000 a year, £833 a month or £192 a week, and section 5(1) of the Pensions Act 2008 uses the same £10,000 figure. Earnings are tested in the pay reference period, so a monthly paid worker on a low salary can still qualify in a month with overtime or a bonus. Our page on qualifying earnings explains what counts.

Who can the employer choose not to re enrol?

Some eligible people may be left out at the employer’s discretion. TPR lists anyone who:

opted out or left the scheme in the 12 months before the re enrolment date;
received a winding up lump sum in the 12 months before the re enrolment date, then left and was re employed by the same employer;
has given notice to leave, or has been given notice of dismissal;
holds primary, enhanced, fixed or individual protection from pension tax charges;
holds the office of director with the employer; or
is a member of an LLP that is the employer and is not treated as a salaried member for income tax.

The 12 month rule is the one most often misread. A worker who left the scheme 11 months before the re enrolment date can be left out until the next cycle, but one who left 13 months before must be re enrolled if they meet the age and earnings tests. Directors are covered in more detail in auto enrolment for directors.

What has to happen within six weeks?

Re enrolment follows the same steps as first time enrolment. Within six weeks of the re enrolment date the employer must:

send the scheme the details it needs to set each person up as an active member;
start deducting and paying contributions from the re enrolment date; and
write to each person who has been re enrolled. TPR provides template letters, and the provider may send them for you. You do not have to write to staff who are not being re enrolled.

Each re enrolled worker then has a fresh one month opt out window. If they opt out, contributions taken from their pay must be refunded in full within one month of the request, which is explained in our guide to opting out and refunds. Re enrolling someone and then encouraging them to leave again is not allowed; any inducement to opt out is a breach of the safeguards in the Pensions Act 2008.

What is the re declaration of compliance?

The re declaration is an online form telling TPR how the employer met its re enrolment duty. It must be completed within five months of the third anniversary of the duties start date for the first cycle, or of the previous re enrolment date for later cycles. TPR’s own example is a duties start date of 1 June 2020, a third anniversary of 1 June 2023 and a re declaration deadline of 31 October 2023.

TPR’s checklist says you will need, among other things:

the 10 digit letter code and the PAYE reference (or accounts office reference) to sign in;
every PAYE scheme reference the employer uses;
the type of scheme, the employer pension scheme reference and the pension scheme registry number (not needed for NEST);
the re enrolment date;
the number of staff re enrolled, the total number employed on the re enrolment date, the number already in a scheme on that date, and the number in neither group.

An accountant or payroll bureau can complete the form, but TPR stresses that the legal duty stays with the employer, including making sure the figures are right. Filing is required even when the answer to “did you re enrol anyone” is no.

A worked timeline

Illustration only. A small company took on its first employee on 1 June 2023, so that is its duties start date.

Step	Date
Third anniversary of duties start date	1 June 2026
Window for choosing the re enrolment date	1 March 2026 to 31 August 2026
Re enrolment date chosen (first day of a monthly pay period)	1 July 2026
Re enrol, start contributions and write to staff	By 12 August 2026 (six weeks)
Re declaration of compliance due	31 October 2026 (five months after 1 June 2026)
Next re enrolment window	Around the third anniversary of 1 July 2026

On 1 July 2026 the company reviews three people. Sam, 30, opted out in August 2023 and earns £2,100 a month, so must be re enrolled. Priya opted out in March 2026, less than 12 months earlier, so the company may leave her until the next cycle. Leo is 20, so he is outside the assessment. The re declaration reports one person re enrolled.

What if the deadline has already passed?

TPR says an employer that missed a previous re enrolment should assess staff as at a date two months before that cycle’s re declaration deadline, put back anyone who qualifies, write to them and pay backdated contributions to that date. The employer must pay the missing employer contributions and the worker must pay theirs unless the employer chooses to cover them, and in enforcement cases TPR may require the employer to pay both. Missed declarations must be filed in date order before a later one can be submitted.

TPR can issue compliance notices, a fixed penalty of £400 and escalating penalties at a daily rate of £50 to £10,000 if a notice is ignored.

What mistakes do employers make?

Not filing a re declaration because nobody needed re enrolling.
Assuming the re declaration deadline moves when a later re enrolment date is chosen.
Assessing only people who opted out and missing those who reduced contributions below the minimum.
Applying postponement at re enrolment, which the rules do not allow.
Misreading the 12 month exception and leaving out people who left more than a year before.
Forgetting a second PAYE scheme when completing the form.
Losing opt out records, which TPR requires employers to keep for four years and which are needed to identify who to reassess.

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Reviewed by Christine Anderson, Broker, Solar Protect. Last reviewed 24 October 2026. Part of Accountapedia, the Solar Protect guide to UK tax and accounting. This page is general information, not personalised advice.