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Pensions
Pension contribution budget
Find an additional gross pension contribution that fits a chosen net annual budget under the selected pension method.
Open calculatorEngland / 2026/27
Pension contribution budget calculator
Calculations run in your browser.
Extra gross pension within entered net budget
| Net budget entered | £3,000.00 |
|---|---|
| Net cost after all modelled relief | £3,000.00 |
| Cash take-home reduction before reclaim | £3,000.00 |
| Additional HMRC relief to claim | £0.00 |
| Total gross pension including existing | £5,172.42 |
Maximum within this model’s contribution cap, not a recommendation or allowance eligibility check. No student loans, employer contributions or annual-allowance tax charges. Relief-at-source budgets assume extra HMRC relief is successfully claimed. Pension money is generally inaccessible until minimum pension age and may be taxed on withdrawal.
Check the inputs to calculate a result.
Calculation details
Budget calculation
The calculator compares take-home before and after additional contributions, searching for the largest gross addition within your net budget and the model cap. For relief at source, the budget assumes additional HMRC relief is claimed; the cash reduction before reclaim is also shown.
Example
At £60,000 with no existing contributions or loans, a £2,900 annual net budget funds £5,000 of salary-sacrifice pension under the annual estimate. The same net budget funds a different gross amount under net pay or relief at source because NI is unchanged.
Limits
The £60,000 model cap is not an allowance eligibility check. Employer contributions count too; taper, carry-forward and the money purchase annual allowance are not assessed. Pension access restrictions and future withdrawal tax apply. This is a budget comparison, not an optimal-contribution recommendation. No loans, employer matching or benefit effects are included.
Sources
- Net pay and relief-at-source treatment, 20% provider relief and additional relief limited to higher-taxed income
- Pension salary sacrifice reduces cash pay and NI earnings; minimum-wage restriction
- Gross relief-at-source contributions reduce adjusted net income
- Standard annual allowance includes employer contributions; taper/MPAA may apply
- Section 10(6): relief-at-source extension of basic and higher-rate limits under Finance Act 2004 s192(4)
- Personal Allowance and adjusted-net-income taper
- Category A rates and annual NI thresholds
- NI normally deducted per pay period
- Separate employment NI liabilities and aggregation exceptions
- Age 21+ National Living Wage £12.71 per hour from April 2026
Checked 2026-10-25. Estimate only, not financial advice.