Qualifying earnings are the minimum basis for working out auto enrolment contributions for your workers. They’re all the earnings between a lower and upper limit that’s set by the government and reviewed each year.
For the tax year 6 April 2026 to 5 April 2027:
- the lower limit is £6,240
- the upper limit is £50,270
- the highest level of qualifying earnings is £44,030 (£50,270-£6,240).
Qualifying earnings thresholds
| Pay periods | Lower level | Upper level |
| Weekly | £120 | £967 |
| Fortnightly | £240 | £1,934 |
| Four-weekly | £480 | £3,867 |
| Monthly | £520 | £4,189 |
An example
2026-2027 earnings: £20,000 salary + £5,000 bonus.
Qualifying earnings: £25,000-£6,240 = £18,760.
Qualifying earnings include:
- salary
- wages
- commission
- bonuses
- overtime
- statutory sick pay
- statutory parental leave pay (maternity, paternity and adoption pay).
Minimum auto enrolment contributions
The minimum legal requirement for auto enrolment pensions is 8% of qualifying earnings.
Workplaces must pay at least 3% of this, so workers pay the remaining 5%. If a workplace pays more than 3%, the worker pays less. For example, if a workplace pays 4% of qualifying earnings, the worker pays 4%.
| Worker | Workplace | Total |
| 5% | 3% | 8% |
We offer contribution models to help you manage contributions to your workplace pension. This is our standard contribution model based on qualifying earnings.
There are other contribution models with different ways to work out contributions and higher contribution levels. You can choose a contribution model to suit you and your workers.
Find out more about contribution models.
