Pension contribution calculator

A pension contribution costs less than it puts in, because the money never gets taxed on the way. This shows what you and your employer are adding, what it takes off your take-home, and the real cost per £100 in the pot. On £45,000 a 5% contribution puts £2,250.00 in and costs £1,620.00 of take-home under salary sacrifice.

Calculator

Figures update as you type. Press Calculate to jump to the result.

Annual salary

Your contribution

As a %As an amount

5% of salary, £2,250.00 a year

Employer contribution (% of salary)

Auto-enrolment minimum is 3%.

How your scheme takes it

Same contribution, three different take-home figures. Your payslip or scheme booklet says which.

Where you live

Going into your pension each year

£3,600.00

£2,250.00 from you and £1,350.00 from your employer, £300.00 a month.

8.0% of salary

It costs you: £1,620.00; the fall in take-home
Per £100 in the pot: £72.00; of your take-home
Tax and NI saved: £630.00; on your contribution
Take-home now: £2,858.30; a month

The same contribution under all three arrangements

£2,250.00 into the pension, on £45,000. The pot is the same; what you are left with is not.

Take-home under salary sacrifice, net pay and relief at source
Arrangement	Take-home a year	Cost per £100 in the pot
Salary sacrifice	£34,299.60	£72.00
Net pay arrangement	£34,119.60	£80.00
Relief at source	£33,669.60	£100.00

2026/27 rates. Relief at source reclaims basic rate only; a higher-rate taxpayer must claim the rest separately.

How much should I put into my pension?

There is no correct percentage, but there are two anchors worth knowing. Auto-enrolment sets a floor of 8% of qualifying earnings, of which at least 3% comes from your employer, and most people who start there never move. The other anchor is your employer’s matching limit: if they will match up to 6% and you contribute 4%, you are declining pay. Above that the question becomes a tax one rather than a savings one, which is what the pension sweet spot calculator answers.

Why the same contribution costs different amounts

Three arrangements exist and payslips rarely name them. Salary sacrifice takes the money before income tax and National Insurance, so it costs least. A net pay arrangement takes it before tax but after National Insurance. Relief at source takes it after both, then your provider reclaims basic rate; a higher-rate taxpayer has to claim the difference. On £45,000 with a 5% contribution the take-home is £34,299.60 under sacrifice against £33,669.60 under relief at source, for the same money in the pot.

What about a SIPP?

A personal pension or SIPP you pay into yourself works on relief at source: you pay in from taxed money, the provider adds 25% to bring it back to the gross amount, and higher and additional rate taxpayers claim the rest through Self Assessment. Set the arrangement to relief at source above and the figures apply. The pension tax relief calculator works out the part you have to claim.

What this calculator assumes

The standard 1257L tax code, one job, and an evenly paid salary.
Employer contributions on full salary rather than qualifying earnings, which is how most modern schemes are written. A qualifying-earnings scheme pays less than shown.
The £60,000 annual allowance, with a warning if you exceed it. Carry-forward from earlier years is not modelled.

2026/27 HMRC rates, checked 28 August 2026 by Hadi. Method and sources on the about page.

How to use the pension contribution calculator

1
Enter your salary, then set your own contribution either as a percentage or as a cash amount.
2
Add your employer's percentage. Auto-enrolment sets a floor of 3%, and many employers match above it.
3
Pick how your scheme takes the money, since salary sacrifice, net pay and relief at source cost you different amounts.
4
Read the total going in, and underneath it the fall in your take-home, which is the real cost.

When should you use the pension contribution calculator?

Use it when you are choosing a contribution level, or when you want to know what the one you already pay is really costing you.

Choosing a contribution level

The cost per £100 in the pot is the number to compare, not the percentage.

Your employer offers matching

Contributing below the match limit is declining pay that is already on the table.

You pay into a SIPP

Personal pensions run on relief at source, so a higher-rate taxpayer has to claim part of the relief.

You are near the annual allowance

Your contributions plus your employer's are tested against £60,000, not yours alone.

Where to go next

All 43 tools share one tested engine, so a figure from the pension contribution calculator agrees with every other page here. See the full calculator index or the pay and tax guides.