# payroll.pension-auto-enrolment

One pay period's workplace pension contributions: the earnings they are
worked out on, the employee's and employer's shares, and what the employee's
share does to pay under the scheme's tax relief arrangement. Tax years
2023-24 to 2026-27 are carried as dated data.

## Decisions

- **Qualifying earnings** are the part of gross pay above the lower level and
  not above the upper level of the band (Pensions Act 2008 s.13), using The
  Pensions Regulator's published figures for the pay reference period:
  £120 to £967 a week, £240 to £1,934 a fortnight, £480 to £3,867 every four
  weeks, £520 to £4,189 a month (the same in all four tax years). A scheme on
  `all-earnings` applies its rates to every penny instead.
- **Statutory minimums** when a rate is null: the employer pays 3% and the
  employee makes up the 8% total, so 5% by default, less if the employer pays
  more, never below zero. These minimums are for the qualifying earnings basis;
  a scheme certified on another basis should pass its own rates. Nothing checks
  that supplied rates meet the minimum.
- **Tax relief.** Under **relief at source** the employee's contribution in
  the scheme is the gross figure, the employer deducts 80% of it from net pay,
  and the provider claims the other 20% (the basic rate, also for Scottish
  taxpayers). Under a **net pay arrangement** the whole gross contribution is
  deducted and taxable pay (not NI-able pay) is reduced by it:
  `deductBeforeTax` tells the payroll which.
- **Rounding.** Each contribution is rounded to the nearest penny, half up; the
  relief-at-source deduction is 80% of the rounded gross, rounded half up.
  Schemes are free to round differently; this is the stated choice and a
  vector pins it.
- **`earningsTriggerMet`** is true when earnings are more than the automatic
  enrolment trigger for the period (£833 a month). Whether the worker is an
  eligible jobholder also depends on age (22 to State Pension age), which this
  capability does not check.

Out of scope: salary sacrifice, postponement, opt-out refunds, and defined
benefit schemes.

## Sources

- The Pensions Regulator, "Earnings thresholds" (2023-24 to 2026-27, per pay
  reference period):
  https://www.thepensionsregulator.gov.uk/employers/new-employers/im-an-employer-who-doesnt-have-to-provide-a-pension-now/declare-your-compliance/ongoing-duties-for-employers/earnings-thresholds
- Pensions Act 2008, s.3 (trigger: "earnings of more than £10,000") and s.13
  (qualifying earnings): https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2008/30/section/13
- GOV.UK, "Workplace pensions: what you, your employer and the government pay"
  (minimum 3% employer, 8% total, from April 2019):
  https://www.gov.uk/workplace-pensions/what-you-your-employer-and-the-government-pay
- GOV.UK, "Tax on your private pension contributions: tax relief" (relief at
  source at the basic 20% rate, including for Scottish taxpayers):
  https://www.gov.uk/tax-on-your-private-pension/pension-tax-relief