The minimum contributions you must pay into your staff’s pension scheme are shown in the table below.

Minimum contributions are being introduced gradually over time.  You will usually pay pension scheme contributions either as a fixed amount or based on a percentage of earnings.

Note that minimum pension contributions only apply to wages paid above the Lower Earnings Limit (LEL) which at 6 April 2019 is £118 per week / £512 per month.

If your employees earn below £10,000 per annum then they don’t need to be auto enrolled into a pension scheme.

Change in law

Please note that by law, minimum pension contributions will increase from the 6^th of April.

From the 6^th April, the total minimum pension contribution (including employer and employee payments), must be no less than 8% of qualifying earnings.

Employers must pay a minimum of 3%, with staff contributing the rest up to 5%.

You will need to check that your payroll system is up to date on 6 April 2019 and is deducting the right minimum contributions.

To find out more about minimum legal pension contributions or auto enrolment in general please visit https://www.thepensionsregulator.gov.uk/en/employers/increase-of-automatic-enrolment-contributions.