Legal Updates Affecting Pay From April 2019

April 2019 will see changes to people’s take home pay. The National Living Wage increases by 4.9% on 1^st April 2019 and there is an increase of 2% for worker contributions into their auto enrolled pensions scheme via NEST from 6^th April 2019.

National Living Wage

The National Living Wage will increase by 4.9% from 1^st April 2019, rising from £7.83 per hour to £8.21 per hour for employees aged 25 and over.

The national minimum wage will also increase from £7.38 per hour to £7.70 ph for 21 to 24-year-olds, from £5.90 per hour to £6.15 per hour for 18 to 20-year-olds, and from £4.20 per hour to £4.35 per hour for 16 to 17-year-olds. Apprentices will also see their hourly pay rate rise from £3.70 per hour to £3.90 per hour from 1^st April 2019.

Contribution increase to Auto Enrolled Pension Scheme

From 6^th April 2019, the minimum total contribution rate for the auto enrolled pension scheme via NEST will rise to 8%. This means worker contributions will increase to 5% from 6^th April 2019 and employer contributions will increase to 3%.

This is a 2% increase in contributions for workers, if this increase is too high, then you can contact NEST to opt out of the pension and any contributions made to date will be saved in your pension for when you retire.