How much are minimum auto-enrolment pension contributions on a £30,000 salary?

Full answer

Workplace pension auto-enrolment minimum contributions in 2026/27 are calculated on "qualifying earnings" -- the band of salary between a lower limit of £6,240 and an upper limit of £50,270 -- rather than on your whole salary. On a £30,000 annual salary, qualifying earnings are £30,000 minus £6,240, which is £23,760. The statutory minimum total contribution is 8% of qualifying earnings, split as at least 3% from the employer and the remainder, at least 5%, from the employee (which typically includes a small element of basic rate tax relief added automatically). On £23,760 of qualifying earnings, 5% employee contribution is £1,188 a year, and 3% employer contribution is £712.80 a year, giving a combined total of £1,900.80 paid into the pension annually. These are only the statutory minimums -- many employers offer more generous contribution rates, sometimes matching or exceeding employee contributions well above 3%, and some schemes calculate contributions on total salary rather than just qualifying earnings, which would result in higher contributions than shown here. Employee pension contributions through auto-enrolment are usually made via "relief at source" or "net pay arrangement," both of which provide tax relief on the contribution, meaning the actual reduction in take-home pay is typically less than the full 5% for a basic rate taxpayer, since some of that money would otherwise have gone toward Income Tax.

Try the calculator