Pension auto-enrolment: minimum total contribution

The least that employer and employee together must pay into an automatic-enrolment pension, as a share of qualifying earnings.

Corroborated Act of Parliament Great Britain in force since 2019-04-06

Checked against its sources: statute verified 2026-09-21·guidance verified 2026-09-21

Scope: The percentage has stood in s.20(1)(c) since enactment; the lower transitional percentages under s.29 ran out on 5 April 2019, which is why GOV.UK's table dates the full 8% from April 2019. From 29 April 2026 the Pension Schemes Act 2026 confines s.20(1) to schemes that are not relevant Master Trusts and adds s.20(1A) for those that are — which applies the SAME conditions (1)(a) to (c). Certification under s.28 permits alternative bases (e.g. a percentage of pensionable pay).

Current sources

Source A · LegislationPensions Act 2008, c. 30 s. 20(1)(c) ("the total amount of contributions paid by the jobholder and the employer, however calculated, must be equal to or more than 8% of the amount of the jobholder's qualifying earnings in the relevant pay reference period")

retrieved 2026-09-08

Source B · Official guidancehttps://www.gov.uk/api/content/workplace-pensions/what-you-your-employer-and-the-government-pay (table "Date | The minimum your employer pays | You pay | Total minimum contribution": "From April 2019 | 3% | 5% | 8%")

retrieved 2026-09-08

History

Value	From	To	Status	Sources
8%	2019-04-06	—	Corroborated	Legislation: Pensions Act 2008, c. 30 s. 20(1)(c) ("the total amount of contributions paid by the jobholder and the employer, however calculated, must be equal to or more than 8% of the amount of the jobholder's qualifying earnings in the relevant pay reference period") retrieved 2026-09-08 Official guidance: https://www.gov.uk/api/content/workplace-pensions/what-you-your-employer-and-the-government-pay (table "Date \| The minimum your employer pays \| You pay \| Total minimum contribution": "From April 2019 \| 3% \| 5% \| 8%") retrieved 2026-09-08

Receipt

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Figure ID: employment.pension.ae.min_total_contribution
Name in the API: Automatic enrolment: minimum total contribution
Record fields (source type · unit · jurisdiction · status): act·percent·GB·corroborated
Record hash (canonical JSON, SHA-256): sha256:a51b2c63a9ae6bb29751187d889a87e2397fbf0156bb75bb440c2e24a04f6d36
Source snapshots (SHA-256): Legislation: sha256:e4ee6dd17077e90e9f0e51b9ac4fcdb75fb153d0a267a0cdd5f3f767da888b44; Official guidance: sha256:e7d557eebb699499c1b977345e69e3f30145a31c91d26b4df6b47e49d70aa743
Listed in the signed manifest: release 3.0.0 manifest · record_hashes["employment.pension.ae.min_total_contribution"]
Machine-readable record: /v1/figures/employment.pension.ae.min_total_contribution · current only: /v1/figures/employment.pension.ae.min_total_contribution/current

Compiler's notes

An act carry: s.20(1)(c) states the percentage. The 29.4.2026 insertion touches the subsection's opening words through an inline wrapper that does not contain paragraph (c), which the probe now reads as its own span; the value is untouched.