Under auto-enrolment, you and your employer both pay into your workplace pension. Enter your salary to see the standard 5% employee and 3% employer contributions on your qualifying earnings, the total invested, and what it really costs you after tax relief.
Qualifying earnings · 2026/27
Auto-enrolment requires most employers to put eligible staff into a workplace pension and pay into it. The legal minimum is a total of 8% of your qualifying earnings, made up of at least 3% from your employer and 5% from you (which already includes 1% government tax relief).
| Who pays | Minimum % |
|---|---|
| You (employee) | 5% (incl. tax relief) |
| Your employer | 3% |
| Total minimum | 8% |
Most schemes calculate contributions on qualifying earnings — the slice of your gross pay between £6,240 and £50,270 a year for 2026/27. So on a £35,000 salary, contributions are based on £28,760, not the full £35,000. Some employers use total pay instead, which is more generous; the calculator lets you switch between the two. To see how a bigger contribution affects your pay, use the take-home after pension calculator or salary sacrifice pension calculator.
The legal minimum total contribution is 8% of your qualifying earnings: at least 3% from your employer and 5% from you (which includes the 1% tax relief from the government). Qualifying earnings are the slice of your pay between £6,240 and £50,270 a year for 2026/27.
Qualifying earnings are your gross pay between a lower limit of £6,240 and an upper limit of £50,270 a year (2026/27). Contributions are usually worked out only on this band, so the first £6,240 and anything above £50,270 are typically excluded unless your employer uses a more generous basis like total pay.
Your 5% contribution gets tax relief, so the real cost to your take-home pay is less than 5% of your qualifying earnings. For a basic-rate taxpayer, every £1 contributed costs about 80p after 20% relief; for a higher-rate taxpayer it can cost as little as 60p, depending on how your scheme gives relief.
Yes, you can opt out, but it is rarely a good idea because you lose the employer contribution and the tax relief — effectively turning down free money. If you opt out within the first month you get any contributions refunded; after that they stay invested until retirement. You are normally re-enrolled every three years.
