Auto-enrolment means that all companies in the UK must immediately sign up qualified workers for a workplace pension. “Automatic Enrolment for Workplace Pensions” is what it stands for.
Simply put, if you’re over 22 and work for someone else, that person has to give you a pension plan.
The only people who don’t have to follow this rule are directors who don’t have job contracts. You can’t be automatically enrolled by your own limited company if you don’t have a written job contract.
How long ago was auto-enrollment?
Auto-enrolment began in 2012 with our biggest companies and was slowly rolled out to all qualified workers until February 2018, when it had to be done by everyone. It was made so that no one would miss out on the safety of a pension because their workplace didn’t give it or because they chose not to join.
To be able to enter, you must be:
- More than 22 years old
- Making more than ten thousand pounds a year
- In the UK for work
How much does it cost?
This depends on how much money you make. They are the amounts of money you made before taxes and national insurance in the 2023–24 tax year, between £6,240 and £50,270.
See the table below for the amounts you’ll be paying, or go to the Pension Advisory Service for more information.
