Official Statistics

Analysis of Automatic Enrolment saving levels

Published 21 July 2025

Introduction

1. Automatic Enrolment (AE) has transformed pension saving in the UK, bringing millions more people into workplace pensions; more than 22 million people are now saving into a workplace pension as of 2023, over 10 million more than in 2012^{[footnote 1]}. This report explores the contribution rates paid into these workplace pensions and the proportions of employees who are saving at the AE minimum contribution levels. How much is saved into an employee’s workplace pension scheme varies significantly across income groups, employer sizes, and industries. The amount saved will have a significant impact on future retirement outcomes.

2. AE criteria require that eligible employees (those earning over £10,000 per year and are aged between 22 and State Pension age) are entitled to minimum total contributions of 8% of qualifying earnings (currently earnings between £6,240 and £50,270), of which at least 3% is contributed by the employer^{[footnote 2]}. Employers can, and many do, pay more than the minimum. Likewise, employees can also choose to contribute more into their workplace pensions.

3. The best data source that enables analysis of AE contributions amongst all eligible employees is the Office for National Statistics (ONS) Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings (ASHE). The latest data available is the 2023 survey. Estimating contribution levels is challenging within the ONS ASHE data and a number of steps have been taken to improve the interpretation of the data see annex.

4. Two main measures are considered within this report on workplace pension contributions:

• Contribution level as percentage of total pay –The percentage of total earnings paid into a workplace pension

• Contributions as a percentage of AE qualifying earnings bands (£6,240 to £50,270) – AE minimum saving is defined as those workers who are receiving contributions of around 8% (a 0.25 percentage-point tolerance is applied) of the AE qualifying earnings bands (£6,240 to £50,270). This is the minimum legal requirement

Trends over time

5. The average contribution rates as a percentage of total pay for those saving is lower in the latest year (2023) compared to the level before AE rollout in 2012. This reflects how AE has brought in new savers saving at lower contribution levels (with many at the AE minimum). In addition, there has also been a shift of employees moving from saving into Defined Benefit (DB) schemes to saving into Defined Contribution (DC) schemes, where average contributions have historically been lower. As Figure 1 shows, the average DB total contribution level (25%) is significantly greater than the average DC total contribution level (8%) as of 2023.^{[footnote 3]}

Figure 1: Median total contributions into a workplace pension by pension type (as a percentage of total pay)

6. Focusing on private sector employees in DC schemes, saving levels have remained unchanged since the minimum contribution rates last increased in 2019 to 8% of qualifying earnings. Median total contribution rates as a percentage of total pay are currently around 8%, with both employees and employers contributing around 4% of total pay on average. Note, tax relief on contributions are included as part of the employee contribution, and therefore the net contribution from the employee will be lower than this.

7. There has been a similar consistency in those saving at AE minimum levels since 2019. Around 3-in-10 (4.3million private sector DC employees out of a total of 14.2million private sector DC savers) are saving at the AE minimum level (8% of qualifying earnings), while around 1-in-2 (7.5million private sector DC employees out of a total of 14.2million private sector DC savers) are saving at or below 8% of total pay.

Figure 2: Median contributions into a private sector DC workplace pension (as a percentage of total pay)

8. The median saver across all earning levels benefits from additional contributions above AE minimum levels (i.e. above 8% of qualifying earning bands) that equates to around 2.2% of their total pay. This varies across individuals whether the additional contributions are made by the employee, employer, or a combination of both. The majority of low earners do not save much beyond the AE minimum levels, whereas higher earners are more likely to have greater contribution levels.

9. For example, the AE minimum saving level for an individual earning £35,000 per year is £2,300 per year. The median additional saved for this individual is around 1.6% of their total pay, which equates to an additional £560 per year. Even at this earning level additional saving varies, with around 1-in-4 individuals receiving no additional contributions, and 1-in-4 individuals saving an extra 4% of their earnings above AE minimums.

Figure 3: Average proportion of total pay contributed above AE minimum levels remains minimal

Earnings

10. There is a clear relationship between earnings and pension saving levels. Those on lower incomes are more likely to be saving at AE minimum levels. Around 1-in-2 (48%) of those earning £10,000 to £20,000 per year are saving at AE minimum levels compared to just 1-in-10 (12%) of those earning £60,000 to £70,000. When looking at those saving 8% or less of total pay, around 3-in-4 low earners are saving at these levels compared to only 1-in-4 for higher earners.

Figure 4: The proportion of employees saving at AE minimum levels is greater among lower earners

11. The relationship between earnings and contribution level can be observed in both employee, and employer, contribution rates. Note, the sum of the average (median) employer and employee contribution rate does not sum to the total median contribution rate as the median is estimated individually for each element.

Figure 5: Median contribution rates into workplace pensions [as a percentage of total pay] increase with earnings

Employer size

12. Those working for smaller employers are more likely to be saving at AE minimum levels, whereas those working for larger employers are more likely to benefit from higher employer contributions. Over half of private sector DC savers (53%) working for an employer with 1 to 4 employees are saving at AE minimum levels compared to 20% of those working for employers with 250 to 4,999 employees.

Figure 6: The proportion of employees saving at AE minimum levels is greater in smaller employers compared to larger employers

Figure 7: Median contribution rates into workplace pensions (as a percentage of total pay) are greater for employees of larger employers compared to smaller employers

Industry:

13. Employees working in sectors such as hospitality (55%) are more likely to save at the AE minimum required level compared to sectors such as Finance and Insurance (5%). This is likely a reflection of the average pay being substantially greater in Finance and Insurance^{[footnote 4]}.

Figure 8: Average contribution levels vary across industries

–	At AE Minimum	At or below 8% of total pay	Median Employee Contribution Rate	Median Employer Contribution Rate	Median Total Contribution Rate[footnote 5]
Accommodation and food service activities	55%	79%	3.7%	2.3%	6.2%
Agriculture, Forestry and Fishing	51%	73%	4.0%	2.6%	6.8%
Administrative and support service activities	47%	69%	4.0%	2.6%	6.8%
Construction	42%	63%	4.2%	3.0%	8.0%
Human health and social work activities	41%	71%	3.9%	3.0%	7.0%
Wholesale and retail trade; repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles	37%	61%	4.0%	3.0%	8.0%
Arts, entertainment and recreation	35%	65%	4.0%	3.0%	8.0%
Other Service Activities	29%	54%	4.0%	4.0%	8.0%
Transportation and storage	27%	48%	4.5%	4.0%	8.6%
Real estate activities	24%	50%	4.0%	4.4%	8.3%
Manufacturing	23%	44%	4.7%	4.9%	9.0%
Professional, scientific and technical activities	21%	46%	4.3%	4.7%	9.0%
Water Supply, sewerage, waste management and remediation activities	21%	39%	4.7%	5.7%	10.0%
Education	19%	38%	5.0%	5.8%	10.0%
Mining and Quarrying	17%	27%	5.0%	7.0%	12.0%
Information and communication	16%	35%	4.9%	5.5%	10.0%
Financial and insurance activities	5%	18%	4.1%	9.4%	12.0%
Electricity, gas, steam and air conditioning supply	3%	8%	5.0%	8.4%	13.0%
All	30%	53%	4.1%	4.0%	8.0%

Age:

14. Those aged 22 to 25 are slightly more likely to be saving at AE minimum levels (35%) compared to older age groups. However, the average contribution levels by age do not vary substantially.

Figure 9: The proportion of employees saving at AE minimum levels is slightly greater for younger age groups

Figure 10: Median contributions into workplace pensions [as a percentage of total pay] do not vary much by age

Annex A: Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings Data Cleaning

1. ASHE is a key data source for pension saving and is used to support pension statistics, such as the Workplace Pension Participation annual release. Investigation into the data highlighted there may be an underestimate of some individuals’ pension contributions. Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) analysts have implemented a robust cleaning process on the raw data supplied by ONS.

2. Analysis identified that, for a significant number of records, employee contribution values are missing tax relief, with this particularly the case for individuals within pension schemes known to utilise the Relief at Source (RAS) tax relief method. For individuals in such schemes, tax relief is claimed separately by their pension provider, with the omission of tax relief when completing the survey therefore understandable. Consequently, an algorithm has been utilised to identify the records from which tax relief is omitted, with the employee contribution values for these records increased accordingly.

3. Alongside the correction of omitted of tax relief, adjustments have been made in instances where:

• missing data prevents the calculation and assessment of contribution rates, including where employee earnings values are omitted
• contribution values are slightly below AE minimums, with contribution values consequently rounded to meet these minimums
• contributions are either extremely low or extremely high, suggesting survey error, with an algorithm implemented to reassign the contribution values in such instances

4. This cleaning process has been implemented from 2019 onwards, with this being the first year in which the current AE minimum contribution rates (8% of qualifying earnings) were required. Consequently, a consistent cleaning approach has been able to be applied across the 2019 to 2023 period. This may make comparisons further back more challenging; however, this does not impact the trend nor narrative with any impact likely to be less than 1 percentage-point on average contribution levels.

5. The approach has been Quality Assured and compared to other known sources. For example, Nest Insight’s Employer Survey^{[footnote 6]}found around 4-in-10 employees were saving at default AE levels (this analysis finds around 3-in-10); comparisons to the Pensions Policy Institute’s DC Future Book^{[footnote 7]}, where pension contribution rates show a similar trend in average contribution rates; and the most common average contribution rate received within the ASHE data now being 8% (whereas previously it was 7%, strongly suggesting 1% of tax relief was not being captured within the data).

Annex B: Insight into people earning below £10,000 per year

1. People aged 22 to State Pension age and earning above £10,000 a year are automatically enrolled into a workplace pension. However, many workers are earning below those levels. This note briefly explores the group of low earners using DWP analysis of Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings (ASHE).

2. Around 2.5 million private sector employees in 2023 earned less than £10,000 a year. Of these, only around 1 in 4 were saving into a workplace pension.

3. There are notable characteristics of those earning less than £10,000 including:

• 69% are female workers (compared to around 50% of all employees)
• generally younger although there is strong representation from all ages with people at the start, middle, and end of their working life
• over 50% are within 3 industries – Hospitality, Retail, and Social/Health care. This compares with around one-third across the labour market

4. The lowest earners are less likely to be undersaving when measured against Target Replacement Rates (TRR). Only 13% of low earning working-age individuals are set to miss their TRR Before Housing Costs. This reflects the State Pension providing a strong foundation, which means more than 80% of their pre-retirement earnings will be covered by the new State Pension for the vast majority.

5. However, low earners are more likely to miss the PLSA Retirement Living Standards (another form of measuring adequacy). 47% will miss the “minimum” standard of retirement (estimated at an income of around £13,000 a year), 95% will miss the “moderate” standard (around £32,000 a year) and 98% will miss the “comfortable” standard (around £44,000 a year). ^{[footnote 8]}

6. It is important to note that low earners may be part of a higher income household. For example, around a third of workers earning below £10,000 have a “higher” household income (estimated at £20,000 or more).^{[footnote 9]}

Statement of compliance with the Code of Practice for Statistics

The Code of Practice for Statistics (the Code) is built around 3 pillars:

• trustworthiness – is about having confidence in the people and organisations that publish statistics
• quality – is about using data and methods that produce statistics
• value – is about publishing statistics that support society’s needs

Trustworthiness

These figures have been published to provide an estimate of the levels of pension contributions. They are being released now to ensure equal access to the analysis and to support the Pensions Commission and provide more a greater level of detail to support public awareness and ensure transparency.

Quality

The estimates are based on the Office for National Statistics’ (ONS) Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings (ASHE). The methodology and calculations in this analysis have been quality assured by DWP analysts to ensure they are robust. The ASHE data has been extensively cleaned (see Annex) to improve the quality of the data.

Value

Releasing these estimates provides the public and user organisations with up-to-date estimates on the latest contribution levels. This has not been published in detail before. The estimates also add value to the government’s Pension Commission on adequacy. Making this information accessible helps reduce the requirement of Parliamentary Questions, Freedom of Information requests and ad hoc queries.

Authors

Ryan Churchill

Chris Ellis

Contact details

Feedback and queries about the statistics can be sent to: workplacepensions.statistics@dwp.gov.uk

For media enquiries please contact the DWP press office.

Published: July 2025

1. Workplace pension participation and savings trends: 2009 to 2023 - GOV.UK ↩

2. If a worker isn’t an eligible jobholder, they can still ask to be enrolled. Non-eligible jobholders who ask to join must be enrolled and employers must make contributions in line with the AE minimum requirements. These are workers who: earn over £10,000 a year and are aged between 16 and 21 or between State Pension age and 74. Or earn above £6,240 and less than £10,000 a year and are aged between 16 and 74. An entitled worker (those earning below £6,240 per year) has the right to join a pension scheme, but the employer does not have to pay into the scheme themselves ↩

3. The average public sector DB contribution is around 26% of total pay (19% from the employer and 7% from the employee). Private sector DB contributions are slightly lower at around 20% of total pay (13% from the employer and 6% from the employee) ↩

4. ONS ASHE data ↩

5. Note, the sum of the average (median) employer and employee contribution rate does not sum to the total median contribution rate as the median is estimated individually for each element ↩

6. Employer contributions to pensions and other financial workplace benefits - NEST Insight Unit ↩ ↩

7. 20240926-the-dc-future-book-2024-final.pdf ↩ ↩

8. Analysis of Future Pension Incomes 2025 ↩

9. PPI – Every little helps: Should low earners be encouraged to save? ↩