Salary Sacrifice Pension Calculator 2026/27

See the real take-home cost of a salary-sacrifice pension contribution, and how much further every pound goes than relief-at-source.

Last updated: May 2026 · 2026/27 rates · rUK tax (Scotland not modelled here)

Salary & sacrifice

£
%

Annual amount: £6,000

Many employers pass nothing back; some progressive schemes pass 50% or 100% into your pension.

For every £1 of take-home pay you give up

£1.72 into pension

42.0% effective discount vs. paying in from net pay

Take-home reduction
£3,480

Net pay you give up each year

Pension contribution
£6,000

Into your pension pot each year

Annual breakdown

Before
After sacrifice
Gross salary
£60,000.00
£54,000.00
Income tax
-£11,432.00
-£9,032.00
National Insurance
-£3,210.60
-£3,090.60
Take-home pay
£45,357.40
£41,877.40

Where your sacrificed £6,000 goes

Income tax avoided£2,400.00
Employee NI avoided£120.00
Employer NI saved (their share)£900.00

Understanding salary sacrifice

Both routes get money into your pension — but salary sacrifice is materially better because it avoids National Insurance, which relief-at-source does not.

Salary sacrifice

  • Reduces gross pay before tax and NI hit it.
  • Saves both income tax (20% / 40% / 45%) and NI (8% / 2%).
  • Employer's 15% NI on the sacrificed amount is also saved (and may be passed back).
  • No Self Assessment claim needed — the saving is automatic.

Relief at source (most SIPPs)

  • Contributions come from net pay.
  • Provider claims back 20% basic-rate tax automatically.
  • Higher-rate or additional-rate top-up requires Self Assessment.
  • No NI savings — for a higher-rate taxpayer, that's ~2% lost; for a basic-rate taxpayer, ~8%.

Three scenarios where salary sacrifice delivers outsized returns:

  1. Income between £100k and £125k. Sacrificing back below £100k reclaims the Personal Allowance — effective relief of ~60% (rUK) or ~63% (Scotland).
  2. Adjusted net income over £60k with children. Sacrificing into the £60k–£80k HICBC taper zone recovers Child Benefit at face value on top of the income tax + NI saving.
  3. Employer who passes back 100% of the employer NI saving. Every £1 sacrificed adds £1.15 to your pension before any of your own tax relief.

Related calculators

Other free UK tools that follow on from this calculation.

Salary Calculator

Annual, monthly and weekly take-home pay after PAYE, NI, pension and student loan.

Pension Calculator

Project workplace auto-enrolment and SIPP contributions to estimate retirement income.

Pension Drawdown Calculator

How long a pension pot lasts at a chosen annual withdrawal — with the 25% tax-free lump sum.

HICBC Calculator

High Income Child Benefit Charge between £60k and £80k of adjusted net income.