Pensions Minister, Torsten Bell, has confirmed that the automatic enrolment thresholds for 2026/27 will be maintained at their 2025/26 levels, prompting calls for a wider review of auto-enrolment levels and a "broader, more deliberate approach".

The freeze means that the automatic enrolment earnings trigger will remain at £10,000, while the lower earnings limit of the qualifying earnings band will remain at £6,240, and the upper earnings limit of the qualifying earnings band will remain at £50,270.

Explaining this decision, Bell said that the main focus of this year’s annual statutory review has been to ensure the continued stability of automatic enrolment for employers and individuals, "particularly during the ongoing work of the Pensions Commission which will explore long term questions of adequacy and how to improve retirement outcomes, especially for those on the lowest incomes and at the greatest risk of poverty or undersaving".

Whilst somewhat expected, industry experts have expressed disappointment, as Broadstone head of DC proposition, Kelly Parsons, said that although the decision was "largely a formality and was widely expected", it also highlights a deeper challenge around retirement adequacy. 

"Ultimately, improving outcomes will require higher contributions over time, but that is not a straightforward fix," she stated.

"Higher rates risk pushing lower earners to opt out altogether as households juggle competing financial pressures, while increases at the lower end of earnings often deliver only modest gains to pension pots.
 
“At the same time, holding the auto-enrolment thresholds steady has a quietly powerful effect, akin to fiscal drag in taxation.

"With the trigger remaining at £10,000 and the qualifying earnings band fixed between £6,240 and £50,270, rising wages mean more employees are brought into pension saving and contributions increase organically, even without changes to headline rates.
 
“However, this passive mechanism also underlines the urgent need for a broader, more deliberate approach. Improving awareness of the impact of starting late, career breaks and periods of non-saving is just as important as contribution rates, particularly for younger and lower-paid workers."

This was echoed by AJ Bell head of public policy, Rachel Vahey, who argued that "the DWP’s annual check of the automatic enrolment thresholds has the whiff of a tick box exercise".

"Instead, we need a thorough review of whether people in the UK are saving enough for retirement," she argued.

And whilst the government promised this in phase two of its review, with the work of the Pensions Commission looking at adequacy issues, Vahey argued that "phase two of the pensions review appears to have been kicked into the long grass".

Given this, she argued that the government "needs to pick this back up again", along with plans to put into action the changes already agreed to lower the auto-enrolment minimum age to 18 and count contributions on the first pound of salary upwards.
 
“Asking people and employers to put more towards pension saving is always going to be tough. But the longer Labour postpones addressing the crucial problem of pensions adequacy, the worse this problem is likely to become," she stated.

"If we are to help people enjoy a decent income in retirement, it’s something the government is going to need to get to grips with sooner rather than later.”

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