The legal minimum in 2026/27
If you are aged 22 or over and under State Pension age, earn more than £10,000 a year and work in the UK, your employer must enrol you in a workplace pension. The minimum contribution is 8% of qualifying earnings:
- Employer: at least 3%
- You: the rest, normally 5%. Under relief at source this is 4% from your pay plus 1% added as tax relief.
Qualifying earnings are the slice of your pay between £6,240 and £50,270. The government kept both limits, and the £10,000 trigger, for 2026/27.
Worked example at £30,000:
| Amount | |
|---|---|
| Qualifying earnings (£30,000 − £6,240) | £23,760 |
| Employer 3% | £712.80 |
| Your 5% | £1,188.00 |
| of which from your pay (relief at source) | £950.40 |
| of which basic-rate tax relief | £237.60 |
| Total going into the pension | £1,900.80 |
Note that 3% of qualifying earnings is less than 3% of salary. 3% of the full £30,000 would be £900. Many employers do calculate contributions on basic salary or total pay rather than the band. Your payslip or scheme booklet will say which.
Common match structures
Above the minimum, employers use a few standard patterns. The figures below are worked on a £50,000 salary with contributions calculated on the whole salary.
| Structure | What it means | You pay | Employer pays | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Statutory minimum | Fixed 3% employer, 5% employee on qualifying earnings | 5% of £43,760 = £2,188 | 3% of £43,760 = £1,313 | £3,501 |
| Matched up to a cap | "We match up to 6%" | 6% = £3,000 | 6% = £3,000 | £6,000 |
| Enhanced ratio | "1-for-1 on your first 3%, 2-for-1 on the next 3%" | 6% = £3,000 | 3% + 6% = 9% = £4,500 | £7,500 |
| Non-contributory | Employer pays a fixed rate whatever you do | 0% | for example 8% = £4,000 | £4,000 |
Under a cap, contributing above the cap is still allowed, but the employer doesn't add more. In the "match up to 6%" example, going from 6% to 8% adds £1,000 of your money and nothing from the employer.
What a percentage point actually costs you
You don't give up the full amount from take-home pay, because contributions get tax relief and sometimes NI relief. At £50,000 (all in the basic-rate band for 2026/27, which ends at £50,270):
| Method | £3,000 gross contribution costs you |
|---|---|
| Relief at source or net pay | £2,400 (20% tax relief) |
| Salary sacrifice | £2,160 (20% tax + 8% employee NI saved) |
So in the enhanced-ratio example above, about £2,400 of take-home pay buys £7,500 a year of pension contributions. You can check your own figures with the pension impact calculator.
What unclaimed match costs
Suppose your employer would match an extra 3% if you paid it, and you don't. At £50,000 that's £1,500 a year of employer money not paid. Invested at 5% a year growth, with the salary flat and before charges and inflation, that adds up to:
- about £52,000 after 20 years
- about £105,000 after 30 years
Higher earnings or pay rises make the number bigger. This is why paying in at least the maximum matched rate is usually the first pension priority, ahead of extra saving elsewhere. The exception is if you genuinely can't afford the take-home cut. Short-term debt at high interest is the usual case.
The tax and NI treatment
- Income tax: employer contributions aren't taxed as your income.
- National Insurance: neither you nor your employer pays NI on employer pension contributions. That isn't true of cash pay. In 2026/27 employers pay 15% NI on earnings above £5,000 a year, so a £1,000 pay rise costs about £1,150 while a £1,000 pension contribution costs £1,000.
- Annual allowance: your contributions, the tax relief and your employer's contributions all count towards the £60,000 annual allowance for 2026/27. The allowance tapers down (to a minimum of £10,000) once adjusted income exceeds £260,000.
- Salary sacrifice from April 2029: from 6 April 2029, pension contributions made through salary sacrifice above £2,000 a year will attract employee and employer NI. Ordinary employer contributions are not affected, and income tax relief is unchanged.
How to check your match
Look in this order:
- Your contract or offer letter. It usually states the employer rate and any matching rule.
- The scheme booklet or HR pensions page. It covers matching tiers, the earnings basis (qualifying earnings or full salary) and whether salary sacrifice is used.
- Your payslip. Many show the employer contribution. If yours doesn't, the pension provider's online account will.
- Ask HR or payroll. Ask "what is the highest employee contribution you match, and at what rate?"
Asking for a higher match
The strongest moments are at offer stage, at a pay review, and after a promotion that moves you into a higher matching tier. The NI point above is the practical argument. A pension increase costs the employer less than the same amount of cash, because it carries no 15% employer NI.
Opting out
You can opt out of auto-enrolment, and if you do it within the opt-out period you get your own contributions back. But your employer's contributions stop too. If you're still eligible, your employer must normally re-enrol you about every three years.
In short
The legal minimum is 3% from your employer and 8% in total, on qualifying earnings of £6,240 to £50,270 in 2026/27. Many employers match more if you pay more, up to a cap. Check the highest rate your employer matches and contribute at least that. At £50,000, every 3% of match left unclaimed is £1,500 a year, or around £52,000 after 20 years.