Thresholds for 2026-27
- Earnings threshold for automatic enrolment
- £10,000 a year, £833 a month, £192 a week (TPR: earnings thresholds)
- Lower level of qualifying earnings
- £6,240 a year, £520 a month, £120 a week (TPR)
- Upper level of qualifying earnings
- £50,270 a year, £4,189 a month, £967 a week (TPR)
- Minimum total contribution
- 8% of qualifying earnings, with at least 3% from the employer (TPR: contributions)
The duties in order
Know the duties start date
The duties begin on the day the first member of staff starts work, and the date cannot be changed (TPR: new employers).
Assess the staff
On the duties start date, assess each member of staff by age and earnings (TPR: who to put into a pension). Postponement can delay the assessment by up to three months, with notice to staff.
Enrol those who qualify
Staff aged 22 up to State Pension age earning more than £10,000 a year must be enrolled, with employer contributions (TPR).
Write to every member of staff
Within 6 weeks after the duties start date, write to each member of staff individually about how automatic enrolment applies to them (TPR: write to your staff).
Declare compliance
Complete the declaration of compliance within 5 months after the duties start date, using the PAYE reference and the letter code or accounts office reference (TPR: declare your compliance).
Keep going each pay period
Assess new and existing staff as their age and earnings change, and pay contributions to the scheme by the 22nd of the next month, or the 19th by cheque (TPR: contributions).
Categories of worker
| Category | Age | Earnings | What the employer must do |
|---|---|---|---|
| Eligible jobholder | 22 to State Pension age | Above £10,000 a year (TPR) | Enrol automatically and contribute |
| Non-eligible jobholder | 16 to 74 | Qualifying earnings, but not an eligible jobholder | Enrol if they opt in, with employer contributions |
| Entitled worker | 16 to 74 | No qualifying earnings | Arrange membership if they ask to join |
The categories come from TPR's detailed guidance on employer duties. A non-eligible jobholder is under 22 or over State Pension age, or earns no more than the £10,000 threshold, but has qualifying earnings above £6,240. A company with only one director and no other employees has no duties for that director (TPR detailed guidance), and a business made up of directors none of whom has an employment contract may have no duties at all (TPR: new employers).
Working out minimum contributions
Contributions on the qualifying earnings basis are worked out on earnings between £6,240 and £50,270 for 2026-27 (TPR: contributions). Qualifying earnings include salary, wages, commission, bonuses, overtime and statutory sick, maternity, paternity and adoption pay.
For example, an employee earns £28,000 in 2026-27. Qualifying earnings are £28,000 less £6,240, which is £21,760. The employer pays at least 3%, £652.80, and the total must reach 8%, £1,740.80, so the employee's share, including tax relief, is £1,088.
Re-enrolment every three years
TPR's re-enrolment guidance says that every three years the employer must put certain staff who have left the scheme back into it, and complete a re-declaration of compliance whether or not anyone is re-enrolled.
The employer chooses a re-enrolment date in a six-month window, from three months before to three months after the third anniversary of its duties start date (TPR detailed guidance 11). It may choose whether to re-enrol eligible jobholders who opted out or left at their own request in the 12 months before that date.
The re-declaration is due within five calendar months of the third anniversary of the duties start date, whatever re-enrolment date was chosen, and then every three years (TPR question and answer). Missing a duty can lead to a fine.
Questions
Who is responsible if the practice does the declaration for the client?
The employer. TPR says the legal duty to complete the declaration on time and correctly stays with the employer even when someone else helps (TPR: declare your compliance).
Do directors-only companies need to declare?
A company whose directors have no employment contracts may have no duties. TPR's new employer questions cover this case.
In Accountin
In Accountin, the workplace pension basis is set with the payroll scheme and each pay run works out employee and employer pension contributions alongside PAYE and National Insurance.
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