UK Pension Contribution After Tax 2025-26

See exactly how pension contributions affect your take-home pay. Salary sacrifice pensions reduce your taxable income — meaning part of your contribution is effectively funded by tax savings.

How pension contributions work

Auto-enrolment minimum
5% employee + 3% employer
Tax relief on contributions
20% basic / 40% higher rate
Annual pension allowance
£60,000 (2025-26)
Pension type below
Salary sacrifice (pre-tax)

Quick reference: 5% pension contribution

Salary Pension (5%) Income Tax Take-home Monthly
£20,000 £1,000 £1,286 £17,120 £1,427 View →
£25,000 £1,250 £2,236 £20,520 £1,710 View →
£27,000 £1,350 £2,616 £21,880 £1,823 View →
£28,000 £1,400 £2,806 £22,560 £1,880 View →
£30,000 £1,500 £3,186 £23,920 £1,993 View →
£32,000 £1,600 £3,566 £25,280 £2,107 View →
£35,000 £1,750 £4,136 £27,320 £2,277 View →
£38,000 £1,900 £4,706 £29,360 £2,447 View →
£40,000 £2,000 £5,086 £30,720 £2,560 View →
£42,000 £2,100 £5,466 £32,080 £2,673 View →
£45,000 £2,250 £6,036 £34,120 £2,843 View →
£48,000 £2,400 £6,606 £36,160 £3,013 View →
£50,000 £2,500 £6,986 £37,520 £3,127 View →
£55,000 £2,750 £8,332 £40,807 £3,401 View →
£60,000 £3,000 £10,232 £43,557 £3,630 View →
£65,000 £3,250 £12,132 £46,307 £3,859 View →
£70,000 £3,500 £14,032 £49,057 £4,088 View →
£75,000 £3,750 £15,932 £51,807 £4,317 View →
£80,000 £4,000 £17,832 £54,557 £4,546 View →
£90,000 £4,500 £21,632 £60,057 £5,005 View →
£100,000 £5,000 £25,432 £65,557 £5,463 View →

£20,000 with pension contribution

3% pension £17,440 4% pension £17,280 5% pension £17,120 6% pension £16,960 8% pension £16,640 10% pension £16,320 12% pension £16,000 15% pension £15,520 20% pension £14,720
Scotland rates →

£25,000 with pension contribution

3% pension £20,920 4% pension £20,720 5% pension £20,520 6% pension £20,320 8% pension £19,920 10% pension £19,520 12% pension £19,120 15% pension £18,520 20% pension £17,520
Scotland rates →

£27,000 with pension contribution

3% pension £22,312 4% pension £22,096 5% pension £21,880 6% pension £21,664 8% pension £21,232 10% pension £20,800 12% pension £20,368 15% pension £19,720 20% pension £18,640
Scotland rates →

£28,000 with pension contribution

3% pension £23,008 4% pension £22,784 5% pension £22,560 6% pension £22,336 8% pension £21,888 10% pension £21,440 12% pension £20,992 15% pension £20,320 20% pension £19,200
Scotland rates →

£30,000 with pension contribution

3% pension £24,400 4% pension £24,160 5% pension £23,920 6% pension £23,680 8% pension £23,200 10% pension £22,720 12% pension £22,240 15% pension £21,520 20% pension £20,320
Scotland rates →

£32,000 with pension contribution

3% pension £25,792 4% pension £25,536 5% pension £25,280 6% pension £25,024 8% pension £24,512 10% pension £24,000 12% pension £23,488 15% pension £22,720 20% pension £21,440
Scotland rates →

£35,000 with pension contribution

3% pension £27,880 4% pension £27,600 5% pension £27,320 6% pension £27,040 8% pension £26,480 10% pension £25,920 12% pension £25,360 15% pension £24,520 20% pension £23,120
Scotland rates →

£38,000 with pension contribution

3% pension £29,968 4% pension £29,664 5% pension £29,360 6% pension £29,056 8% pension £28,448 10% pension £27,840 12% pension £27,232 15% pension £26,320 20% pension £24,800
Scotland rates →

£40,000 with pension contribution

3% pension £31,360 4% pension £31,040 5% pension £30,720 6% pension £30,400 8% pension £29,760 10% pension £29,120 12% pension £28,480 15% pension £27,520 20% pension £25,920
Scotland rates →

£42,000 with pension contribution

3% pension £32,752 4% pension £32,416 5% pension £32,080 6% pension £31,744 8% pension £31,072 10% pension £30,400 12% pension £29,728 15% pension £28,720 20% pension £27,040
Scotland rates →

£45,000 with pension contribution

3% pension £34,840 4% pension £34,480 5% pension £34,120 6% pension £33,760 8% pension £33,040 10% pension £32,320 12% pension £31,600 15% pension £30,520 20% pension £28,720
Scotland rates →

£48,000 with pension contribution

3% pension £36,928 4% pension £36,544 5% pension £36,160 6% pension £35,776 8% pension £35,008 10% pension £34,240 12% pension £33,472 15% pension £32,320 20% pension £30,400
Scotland rates →

£50,000 with pension contribution

3% pension £38,320 4% pension £37,920 5% pension £37,520 6% pension £37,120 8% pension £36,320 10% pension £35,520 12% pension £34,720 15% pension £33,520 20% pension £31,520
Scotland rates →

£55,000 with pension contribution

3% pension £41,467 4% pension £41,137 5% pension £40,807 6% pension £40,477 8% pension £39,817 10% pension £39,003 12% pension £38,123 15% pension £36,803 20% pension £34,603
Scotland rates →

£60,000 with pension contribution

3% pension £44,277 4% pension £43,917 5% pension £43,557 6% pension £43,197 8% pension £42,477 10% pension £41,757 12% pension £41,037 15% pension £39,957 20% pension £37,703
Scotland rates →

£65,000 with pension contribution

3% pension £47,087 4% pension £46,697 5% pension £46,307 6% pension £45,917 8% pension £45,137 10% pension £44,357 12% pension £43,577 15% pension £42,407 20% pension £40,457
Scotland rates →

£70,000 with pension contribution

3% pension £49,897 4% pension £49,477 5% pension £49,057 6% pension £48,637 8% pension £47,797 10% pension £46,957 12% pension £46,117 15% pension £44,857 20% pension £42,757
Scotland rates →

£75,000 with pension contribution

3% pension £52,707 4% pension £52,257 5% pension £51,807 6% pension £51,357 8% pension £50,457 10% pension £49,557 12% pension £48,657 15% pension £47,307 20% pension £45,057
Scotland rates →

£80,000 with pension contribution

3% pension £55,517 4% pension £55,037 5% pension £54,557 6% pension £54,077 8% pension £53,117 10% pension £52,157 12% pension £51,197 15% pension £49,757 20% pension £47,357
Scotland rates →

£90,000 with pension contribution

3% pension £61,137 4% pension £60,597 5% pension £60,057 6% pension £59,517 8% pension £58,437 10% pension £57,357 12% pension £56,277 15% pension £54,657 20% pension £51,957
Scotland rates →

£100,000 with pension contribution

3% pension £66,757 4% pension £66,157 5% pension £65,557 6% pension £64,957 8% pension £63,757 10% pension £62,557 12% pension £61,357 15% pension £59,557 20% pension £56,557
Scotland rates →

Pension contributions and take-home pay in 2025-26

Salary sacrifice pension contributions reduce your gross taxable income before Income Tax is calculated. If you contribute 5% of a £40,000 salary (£2,000), your taxable income drops to £38,000 — saving approximately £400 in Income Tax (at the 20% basic rate). The real cost to your take-home pay is only £1,600, not £2,000.

Higher rate taxpayers (above £50,270) save 40p in tax for every £1 contributed — making pension contributions even more tax-efficient. At £60,000, contributing 10% saves over £2,400 in Income Tax alone. If your income exceeds £100,000, pension contributions can also restore your lost Personal Allowance.

Under auto-enrolment, your employer must contribute at least 3% on qualifying earnings. This means the total pension pot contribution is always higher than your personal contribution.