NHS pension calculator
Enter your pensionable pay to see your contribution rate, what it costs you after tax relief, and how much pension you build this year in the 2015 NHS Pension Scheme. Add the years until you retire to see a rough total in today's money.
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What the calculator assumes
- You stay an active member of the 2015 scheme.
- You pay income tax at the rates for England.
- The pay you enter is your actual pensionable pay for the year. If you work part time, enter what you are really paid, not the full-time figure.
- Pay stays the same in today's money.
- Your only income is this pay. There is no student loan and no other pension saving.
- Figures before tax on the pension itself.
What you pay in
Your contribution rate depends on which tier your pay falls in. The rate for your tier applies to all of your pensionable pay. It is not split into bands the way income tax is. The tiers look at the pay you actually receive, so part-time staff are placed by their real pay.
| Pensionable pay | You pay |
|---|---|
| Up to £13,259 | 5.2% |
| £13,260 to £28,854 | 6.5% |
| £28,855 to £35,155 | 8.3% |
| £35,156 to £52,778 | 9.8% |
| £52,779 to £67,668 | 10.7% |
| £67,669 and above | 12.5% |
Contributions come out of your pay before income tax is worked out, so you get tax relief straight away at your highest rate. That is why the calculator shows two figures: what goes into the scheme, and what it really costs you. The difference is the tax you no longer pay. Contributions do not reduce National Insurance.
Your employer pays in as well, and at a much higher rate than you do. This payment does not come out of your salary.
What you build
The 2015 scheme is a career average scheme. Each year you build a slice of pension equal to 1/54 of your pensionable pay for that year. While you are still a member, each slice goes up every April by inflation (the Consumer Prices Index) plus 1.5%. So a slice you build early in your career keeps its value, and grows a little more than prices.
The calculator shows that growth in today's money. It adds up one slice for each year until you retire and grows each slice by the 1.5% above inflation. It leaves inflation out on purpose, so the total reads like money at today's prices.
You can normally take the pension in full at your State Pension age, or at 65 if that is later. You can take it earlier, but then it is reduced.
What it leaves out
- Pension you built in the 1995 or 2008 sections, and any choice you made under the McCloud remedy.
- The tax-free lump sum you can swap part of your pension for.
- Early or late retirement, extra pension you buy, and ill-health pensions.
- The annual allowance. Very high earners, or people with a big pay rise, can face a tax charge on pension growth.
- Scotland and Northern Ireland, which have their own NHS pension schemes.
To see how the pension deduction fits into your monthly pay, use the take-home pay calculator or pick your band on NHS pay by band. If you are planning leave, the NHS maternity pay calculator shows what you would be paid.
Official guidance
- Cost of being in the scheme on NHS Business Services Authority
- Getting an estimate of your pension on NHS Business Services Authority
- NHS Pension Scheme member contributions on NHS Employers
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