Rates by age and apprentices
Minimum wage at 20: the last year before the National Living Wage
Enter your date of birth, how often you are paid and the start of one pay period: the tool gives the date your higher rate begins.
When a birthday raises your minimum
Higher rate from (age 18)
16 November 2026
| Turns 18 on | 15 November 2026 |
| Rate from that pay period | £10.85 |
| Turns 21 on | 15 November 2029 |
The new band starts with the first pay reference period that begins on or after the birthday.
At 20 a worker is in the last year of the 18 to 20 band, owed at least £10.85 an hour from 1 April 2026 to 31 March 2027. At 21 the National Living Wage of £12.71 applies, £1.86 more per hour, a rise of 17.1%. It does not start on the birthday itself but with the first pay reference period that begins on or after it, so a worker paid monthly can wait up to a month. Over a year of 37.5-hour weeks, the step is worth £3,627 before tax. The government announced on 28 October 2026 that from 1 April 2027 the two rates are due to become £11.27 and £13.21, once regulations are made, so the gap per hour widens slightly to £1.94. In April 2026 the 18 to 20 rate was 85.4% of the National Living Wage; the Low Pay Commission chose not to narrow that gap further for April 2027.
Your rise on 1 April 2027
More per week from 1 April 2027
£12.60
| Today | £10.85 an hour |
| From 1 April 2027 | £11.27 an hour |
| Rise | 3.9% |
| More per year | £655.20 |
Same age and apprenticeship on both dates. A birthday before April moves you into the next band sooner.
Rates and rules read by Radif Partners · Editorial policy · Method
The jump at 21 in figures
The 21st birthday is the last step on the age scale: after it, only the yearly April rise changes the legal minimum. Here is the same job on either side of it under the April 2026 rates.
| Measure | At 20 | At 21 | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Per hour | £10.85 | £12.71 | £1.86 |
| Week of 20 hours | £217 | £254.20 | £37.20 |
| Week of 37.5 hours | £406.88 | £476.63 | £69.75 |
| Year of 37.5-hour weeks | £21,157.50 | £24,784.50 | £3,627 |
When the higher rate starts
HMRC's guidance treats a birthday the same way as the April rise: the new rate covers each pay reference period that starts on or after the date. Hours in a period that began the day before the birthday are still checked at the 18 to 20 rate.
Priya is paid every two weeks, in periods that start on Mondays, one of them on 2 November 2026. She turns 21 on Thursday 5 November 2026. That period stays at £10.85, and the National Living Wage applies from 16 November 2026.
Tom is paid every four weeks, in periods starting on 7 December 2026 and then 4 January 2027. His birthday is 8 December 2026, one day into a period, so he waits until 4 January 2027 for the higher rate, close to four weeks after turning 21. This is lawful: the law applies the rate period by period, and the first full period at 21 pays the full National Living Wage. The birthday page finds the date for any pay cycle.
The gap between 18 to 20 and 21 and over
The National Living Wage has started at 21 since April 2024. Since then the distance to the 18 to 20 rate has moved like this.
| From April | Gap per hour | 18 to 20 as a share of 21 and over | Gap on a year of 37.5-hour weeks |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | £2.84 | 75.2% | £5,538 |
| 2025 | £2.21 | 81.9% | £4,309.50 |
| 2026 | £1.86 | 85.4% | £3,627 |
| 2027 (announced) | £1.94 | 85.3% | £3,783 |
The gap per hour fell from £2.84 to £1.86 in two years. For April 2027 the Low Pay Commission paused that narrowing, weighing a labour market it described as low hire, low fire against living costs, so in pounds the gap grows a little while the share stays put. The government's aim of a single adult rate from 18 remains without a date; the age 18 page keeps track of it.
Planning the year before 21
A 20 year old on regular hours can work out now what the first pay period at 21 should show. Multiply the hours of that period by £12.71, or by £13.21 if the period starts on or after 1 April 2027 and the announced rates are in force. Overtime premiums and tips do not count towards that figure.
Minimum wage per week, month and year
Legal minimum per hour
£12.71
| Rate that applies | National Living Wage (21 and over) |
| Per week | £476.63 |
| Per month | £2,065.38 |
| Per year (52 weeks) | £24,784.50 |
If the payslip for that period still shows the old rate, the shortfall is arrears that the employer must make up, recalculated at the rate in force when it is paid. The page for 21 year olds covers what the National Living Wage brings at that age, and the history of the age at which it starts.