Auto-enrolment: What are the contribution rates?

Watch a video about auto-enrolment.
What are the contribution rates?
All contributions will be based on a percentage of the employee’s gross salary, and to help with the extra cost they will be phased in over ten years. Employee and employer contributions will start at 1.5% for years 1 to 3, and will increase by 1.5% every three years until 6% is reached in year
Instead of tax relief, the State will pay a top-up contribution of 0.5% in years 1 to 3, rising by 0.5% every three years until 2% is reached in year 10. To be clear, this phasing in will take place in the first decade of auto-enrolment, not in the first ten years of an employee’s career. All new employees joining after year ten will start at the 6% rate. All contributions will be calculated on the employee’s gross salary before deductions. This means that anything that’s included in gross pay will be assessed for the contribution rate. To help ease the cost, contributions will be calculated up to a maximum gross salary of €80,000.
Here's an example of the contribution amounts for an employee who is earning €20,000 a year. Employee and employer contributions will be €300 per year for the first few years, rising incrementally over the ten years to €1,200. The State contribution will be €100 per year for the first few years, rising to €400 in year 10. That’s a total of €15,400 paid into the employee’s pot for the first ten years, and that’s before investment returns are factored in. So you can see how quickly an employee’s savings can build up.