No employee pension
- Take-home pay
- £39,520
- Income Tax
- £7,486
- Employee NI
- £2,994
- Student loans
- £0
- Gross employee pension
- £0
UK pension comparison · 2026/27
Salary Sacrifice Calculator
Compare salary sacrifice with net-pay and relief-at-source pension contributions. See the estimated effect on take-home pay, National Insurance and total pension funding.
- Uses published 2026/27 tax and NI rates
- Includes Scotland and student loans
- Screens against current minimum-wage rates
Your assumptions
2026/27 estimate
Estimate updated · about £3,143 a monthView result →
Employer contributions are modelled as a percentage of your original gross salary. Some schemes instead use qualifying earnings, basic pay or reduced cash salary, so enter the effective percentage confirmed by your scheme.
Postgraduate loan
Income Tax region
Estimated take-home with salary sacrifice
£3,143/ month
£200 more take-home per year than the same gross pension contribution through a net-pay arrangement.
Estimate updated. Salary-sacrifice take-home pay is approximately £3,143 per month.
Gross sacrificed£2,500
Take-home cost£1,800
Employer NI saved£375
Total modelled pension£4,000
Your gross contribution £2,500Employer contribution £1,500Employer NI added £0
Side-by-side estimate
Compare pension contribution methods
Each pension scenario uses the same gross employee contribution shown above.
Swipe horizontally to compare all four methods.
| Annual figure | No employee pension | Net pay | Relief at source | Salary sacrifice |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Take-home pay | £39,520 | £37,520 | £37,520 | £37,720 |
| Income Tax | £7,486 | £6,986 | £7,486 | £6,986 |
| Employee NI | £2,994 | £2,994 | £2,994 | £2,794 |
| Student loans | £0 | £0 | £0 | £0 |
| Gross employee pension | £0 | £2,500 | £2,500 | £2,500 |
Net pay
- Take-home pay
- £37,520
- Income Tax
- £6,986
- Employee NI
- £2,994
- Student loans
- £0
- Gross employee pension
- £2,500
Relief at source
- Take-home pay
- £37,520
- Income Tax
- £7,486
- Employee NI
- £2,994
- Student loans
- £0
- Gross employee pension
- £2,500
Salary sacrifice
Selected result- Take-home pay
- £37,720
- Income Tax
- £6,986
- Employee NI
- £2,794
- Student loans
- £0
- Gross employee pension
- £2,500
Relief at source includes the provider's basic-rate top-up. Additional relief that higher-rate taxpayers may need to claim is not included in take-home pay. Employer contributions are excluded from this table because they do not normally change employee take-home pay.
Understand the result
How salary sacrifice changes take-home pay
Net pay
Income Tax relief through payroll
Your contribution reduces pay used for Income Tax, but employee National Insurance normally remains based on full cash salary.
Relief at source
Provider adds basic-rate relief
You pay 80% of the gross contribution and the provider claims 20%. Additional higher-rate relief may need a separate claim.
Salary sacrifice
Contractual cash salary is reduced
The sacrificed amount is paid by the employer into the pension, reducing pay used for Income Tax and employee National Insurance.
Employer saving
Sharing is scheme-specific
The standard employer NI rate modelled is 15% above the £5,000 annual secondary threshold. Employers do not have to share that saving.
Assumptions and limitations
This is an annual estimate using the standard Personal Allowance and the published 2026/27 Income Tax and Class 1 National Insurance thresholds. It does not reproduce payroll-period rounding, benefits in kind, unusual tax codes, defined-benefit pension growth, carry-forward, tapered annual allowance calculations or the money purchase annual allowance.
The entered employer contribution is modelled as a percentage of original gross salary. Real schemes may use qualifying earnings, basic pay, notional salary or reduced cash salary instead, and may apply matching limits.
The minimum-wage screen uses the rate selected above, effective from , multiplied by 52 weeks and the entered contractual hours. Minimum-wage compliance is assessed by pay reference period and can depend on working time and eligible deductions, so the screen is deliberately not presented as a legal limit.
Salary sacrifice can affect statutory pay, contribution-based benefits and employer calculations based on cash rather than notional salary. Confirm the scheme terms before changing your employment contract. This calculator is educational and is not financial, tax, employment or legal advice.
For a broader take-home estimate, use the UK salary calculator. You can also read the salary sacrifice and auto-enrolment guide.
Salary sacrifice questions
What is salary sacrifice for a pension?
It is a contractual agreement to reduce cash salary in exchange for an employer pension contribution. For a registered pension, the sacrificed amount is generally not subject to employee Income Tax or National Insurance, but the arrangement can affect salary-linked benefits and statutory payments.
Can salary sacrifice take pay below the minimum wage?
No. HMRC says an employer must cap salary sacrifice so cash earnings do not fall below the applicable National Minimum Wage. This tool provides an annual screening guardrail; employers must run the formal check for each pay reference period.
Does an employer have to add its National Insurance saving to my pension?
No. An employer may keep the saving, share some of it, or add all of it, depending on the scheme rules. Enter only the share your employer has confirmed.
Is salary sacrifice always the best pension method?
Not necessarily. It can affect statutory pay, contribution-based benefits, mortgage affordability evidence and salary-linked workplace benefits. Scheme rules and individual circumstances matter, so use the result as an estimate and check the arrangement with your employer or adviser.
Official sources
Assumptions checked against current HMRC and GOV.UK guidance on 18 August 2026.