A pension eligibility check at work turns on age and pay: between 22 and State Pension age, on over £10,000 a year, means automatic enrolment in 2026/27.
Nobody sits one test for "a pension". The workplace pension has its own age and earnings tests, set out below, and the State Pension is checked in a separate government service that is linked further down. If your pay and age sit awkwardly across the lines, an FCA-authorised adviser talks through where your particular age and pay leave your retirement saving, and a no-cost ring-back is a short step away in the form on this page.
Pension eligibility rules: three groups at work
The Pensions Regulator (TPR) sorts staff by age and gross pay, and the law gives each group different rights. TPR's detailed guidance names them: eligible jobholders, non-eligible jobholders and entitled workers. The table below shows where each line falls and what the employer then owes. The main tests are your age and what you are paid in a pay period, though GOV.UK also requires that you are a worker who usually works in the UK.
GOV.UK's workplace pensions guide gives the headline test for being enrolled without asking. Your employer must enrol you if you are a worker, "you’re aged between 22 and State Pension age", "you earn at least £10,000 per year" and you usually work in the UK. The Pensions Act 2008 words the pay line slightly differently, as earnings of more than £10,000 in the pay reference period, so a pay packet sitting exactly on the line is a question for your employer or payroll. The full list of cases where an employer need not enrol someone, such as having given or received notice, is in the auto-enrolment rules guide.
Who is eligible for a pension in 2026/27? The age and earnings tests
TPR's table for 2026/27 turns those tests into pay per period. It runs from age 16 to 74, which is the span the law covers for jobholders.
| Group | Age | Gross pay | What the employer must do |
|---|---|---|---|
| Eligible jobholder | 22 to State Pension age | Over £833 a month (£10,000 a year) | Enrol you, with regular contributions, without being asked |
| Non-eligible jobholder | Anyone from 16 to 74 who is paid above the lower level but is not in the top row | Over £520 a month (£6,240 a year) | If you ask: put you into an auto-enrolment scheme and pay regular contributions |
| Entitled worker | 16 to 74 | £520 a month (£6,240 a year) or less | If you ask: provide a pension scheme to join; contributions not required |
The monthly and annual rows come from TPR's 2026/27 thresholds page, and the group labels from its guidance on opting in and joining. Weekly versions are £120 and £192 on the same table. TPR says the lower level of qualifying earnings for 2026/27 is "£6,240 annually and £480 every four weeks", and the earnings trigger "£10,000 annually and £768 every four weeks".
Dates that matter for the 2026/27 figures
The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) reviews both thresholds every year, and published its review for 2026/27 on 18 December 2025. TPR says changes "take effect from the start of the next tax year following the changes on 6 April", so these figures run from 6 April of the 2026/27 tax year. The same two amounts, £6,240 and £10,000, are listed on TPR's page for 2025/26 as well. Check the TPR thresholds page again after the next April, because a later review can move them.
Can I ask to join if I am not eligible?
Yes, for the two groups below the top line, and the route has a different name for each. A non-eligible jobholder "has the right to opt in". An entitled worker "has the right to join a pension scheme". TPR's assessment table, written for employers' business advisers, adds a note on each. If you opt in, the employer must put you in a scheme that can be used for automatic enrolment and pay regular contributions. If you only have a right to join, the employer must provide a scheme for you but does not have to pay into it.
- How to ask. TPR says the notice "must be in writing but does not have to be a formal document. It can be a letter or an email."
- Can they refuse? GOV.UK: "You can usually still join their pension if you want to. Your employer cannot refuse."
- When asking may not work. According to TPR, the employer need not act if you have given notice to leave, or been given notice of dismissal.
- Employer's money. For a workplace pension you joined by choice, GOV.UK says the employer must contribute the minimum if you earn more than £520 a month, and need not pay anything at or below that.
Whether the pot would be worth having, once you are in, is a separate question; is a workplace pension worth it looks at that, and the minimum contributions guide shows what goes in. Weighing up what asking to join means alongside your other savings is something an adviser does on a call, and a callback request through the form here costs nothing.
How to check which group you are in
Start with your payslip and your employer. The Local Government Pension Scheme tells its members: "Your employer will tell you which category you belong to and what this means for you." Under GOV.UK's guide an employer who has automatically enrolled you must write to say so, including the date you were added and how to leave if you want to. If no letter has arrived and you think you meet the tests, ask payroll in writing.
Then run the numbers yourself with three checks:
- Age. Younger than 22, or at or past State Pension age, and you are outside the automatic-enrolment band whatever you earn; you can still ask to opt in or, on lower pay, to join a scheme, up to age 74.
- Pay in the period. Compare your gross pay for the pay period with TPR's per-period row (£192 a week, £768 every four weeks, £833 a month for the trigger).
- Each job separately. Under section 1 of the 2008 Act, where you have more than one employer, the rules apply separately to each employment, so two part-time jobs are not added together.
Pay is assessed period by period. TPR says that if a bonus "pushes the member of staff’s earnings over the automatic enrolment threshold amount in that specific pay period", they would need to be enrolled in that same week or month. So a high-pay month can move you into the top group for a time even if your annual total looks lower. How that plays out with irregular hours is covered in pension rights on a zero hours contract, and what happens for younger staff is in the guide for young workers.
Check your State Pension age and forecast
This is a separate check, run by government rather than by your employer. State Pension age matters twice here: it is the top of the automatic-enrolment age band, and it is when the State Pension itself can start.
- GOV.UK, Check your State Pension age tells you when you will reach it, your Pension Credit qualifying age and when you are eligible for free bus travel. GOV.UK adds that "The State Pension age is regularly reviewed, so the results of this tool may change in the future."
- GOV.UK, Check your State Pension forecast shows how much you could get, when, and whether you can increase it. You sign in to use it, and "You cannot use this service if you’re already getting your State Pension or if you’ve delayed (‘deferred’) claiming it."
The forecast is also on the HMRC app, and by post using form BR19 or the Future Pension Centre if you reach State Pension age in more than 30 days. For how the State Pension works, read the State Pension guide; for tools that bring your pots together, the pension calculators guide compares them.
Eligibility and entitlement: common queries
Is everyone eligible for a pension?
Workers aged 16 to 74 fall into one of the three workplace groups, but only the top group is put into a scheme automatically. The State Pension is a separate entitlement: the GOV.UK forecast shows your likely amount, and you might be able to raise it with voluntary payments that fill National Insurance gaps.
What is an entitled worker for pensions?
An entitled worker is someone aged 16 to 74 whose gross pay is at or under the lower qualifying-earnings level (£520 a month in 2026/27). They can require the employer to arrange membership of a pension scheme, which need not be an auto-enrolment scheme, and which the employer need not pay into.
How do I find out my pension entitlement?
For the State Pension, use the forecast service above. For a workplace scheme, the statement and contact details come from the scheme itself, and how to read a pension statement covers requesting one. If you cannot tell which pots you hold, the form here can set up a call where an adviser helps you list them.
Do public sector schemes use the same tests?
They can differ. The Local Government Pension Scheme says staff of its employers will "generally join the LGPS on your first day of employment", with the automatic-enrolment tests used in some cases, such as contracts under three months. Civil service rates are in the civil service pension guide.
What if I work past State Pension age?
You drop out of the must-be-enrolled group but stay in TPR's table up to 74, with a right to opt in if you earn over £520 a month. Auto-enrolment after State Pension age follows it through.
Does a company director have to be enrolled?
Not necessarily. TPR's assessment table for business advisers says the employer can choose whether to enrol a director who meets the age and earnings criteria, and GOV.UK names a director without an employment contract who employs at least one other person among those an employer usually does not have to enrol. If you work for yourself rather than for an employer, the self-employed pension guide covers your options.
Sources
- GOV.UK workplace pensions guide, joining page, accessed 26 October 2026.
- GOV.UK workplace pensions guide, contributions page, accessed 26 October 2026.
- The Pensions Regulator, Earnings thresholds, archived copy captured 10 June 2026.
- The Pensions Regulator, staff assessment table, archived copy captured 19 May 2026.
- The Pensions Regulator, Detailed guidance no. 6: Opting in, joining and contractual enrolment, archived copy captured 23 September 2026.
- Pensions Act 2008, section 3, and section 1, accessed 26 October 2026.
- LGPS, Automatic enrolment, accessed 26 October 2026.
- GOV.UK, Check your State Pension age and Check your State Pension forecast, accessed 26 October 2026.