Under auto enrolment legislation, minimum pension contributions are required to increase over time. This happens on set dates. Originally, auto enrolment minimum contributions were due to rise in October 2017 and again in October 2018.
These increases were pushed back by six months by the government so the increases will now happen on:
- 6 April 2018 – to a total of 5% of qualifying earnings of which 2% must be paid by the employer and
- 6 April 2019 – to a total of 8% of qualifying earnings of which 3% must be paid by the employer
| Date | Employer minimum contribution | Total minimum contribution |
| Before April 5 2018 | 1% | 2% (including 1% staff contribution) |
| April 6 2018 – April 5 2019 | 2% | 5% (including 3% staff contribution) |
| April 6 2019 onwards | 3% | 8% (including 5% staff contribution) |
This means that both Employer and Employee contributions will increase automatically
from the first payroll run after 6 April 2018.
