An accessory wire retention assembly is for an electrical switching apparatus, such as a circuit breaker. The circuit breaker comprises a housing, separable contacts and an accessory enclosed by the housing, an operating mechanism for opening and closing the separable contacts, and a number of wires adapted to be electrically connected to the accessory. The wires extend from the interior of the housing through an aperture to the exterior. The accessory wire retention assembly includes an insert which cooperates with the housing and to establish a predetermined position of the wires with respect to the accessory and the aperture, and a fastening mechanism which fastens the wires to the insert to maintain the wires in the predetermined position.