NHS pension tiers, 2026/27
NHS Pension Scheme 2015 contributions are charged in six tiers between 5.2% and 12.5% of pensionable pay. Your tier is based on your whole-time-equivalent annual pensionable pay, not your actual hours-adjusted pay, so part-time staff pay at the same percentage as their full-time-equivalent colleagues.
Contribution tiers for 2026/27
| Whole-time-equivalent pay | Contribution rate |
|---|---|
| £0 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% |
Effective 2026-04-01. Source: NHS Pension Scheme member contributions — 1 April 2026 tier thresholds (CPI uplift 3.8%).
How the NHS Pension Scheme works
The NHS Pension Scheme 2015 is a defined benefit Career Average Revalued Earnings (CARE) scheme. Each year you contribute, you build up 1/54th of your pensionable pay as future pension entitlement. The accrued amount from each year is revalued annually by CPI plus 1.5%, so its real value grows even before you retire.
At retirement, your accrued amounts from all working years are added together to give your annual pension. There is no upper limit on how much pension you can build up, but very high earners may hit the annual allowance (the cap on the amount of pension growth that can be tax-relieved in a year) or, before the 2024 reforms, the lifetime allowance. Most NHS staff are well below both thresholds.
Pensionable pay
Pensionable pay includes basic salary, London weighting (HCAS), and regularly received supplements like Section 2 unsocial hours premia and recruitment and retention premia. It excludes overtime, on-call payments, expense reimbursements, and one-off bonuses. Bank shifts paid through your Trust's payroll are pensionable.
Your monthly pension contribution is calculated on your monthly pensionable pay against the relevant tier rate. If your unsocial hours premia push you into a higher tier in particular months, those months' contributions are calculated at the higher rate. The tier band is reviewed annually based on annual pensionable pay.
Net pay arrangement
NHS pension contributions are deducted from gross pay before income tax is calculated through what is called a 'net pay' arrangement. This means you automatically get tax relief at your full marginal rate without having to claim it. A higher-rate taxpayer paying £400 a month into the pension only sees a £240 reduction in take-home pay because the £160 of tax that would otherwise have been paid stays in their pocket.
The net pay arrangement is more tax-efficient than the 'relief at source' system used by most personal pensions, particularly for higher-rate taxpayers, because the relief is given immediately rather than via a tax return claim.
Employer contribution
On top of your member contribution, your employing NHS Trust contributes around 23.7% of your pensionable pay to the scheme (the exact rate is set by HM Treasury after each periodic valuation, and changes from time to time). This makes the NHS Pension Scheme one of the most generous workplace pensions in the UK by employer-contribution standards. The auto-enrolment minimum for private-sector workplace pensions is 3% employer plus 5% employee.
For an average Band 6 nurse on around £38,000 a year, the employer contribution alone is worth around £9,000 a year on top of salary. This is one of the headline reasons HR teams describe NHS pay as 'total reward': the cash salary is only part of the package.
Common questions
- How much do NHS staff pay into their pension?
- Between 5.2% and 12.5% of pensionable pay, depending on your annual whole-time-equivalent earnings. For 2026/27, the rate is 5.2% at the bottom of the scale (up to £13,259) and rises through six tiers to 12.5% on earnings above £67,669. Contributions are deducted from gross pay before income tax through the 'net pay' arrangement, so you get full tax relief automatically.
- Is the NHS pension contribution worth it?
- For almost everyone, yes. The NHS Pension Scheme 2015 is a defined benefit Career Average Revalued Earnings (CARE) scheme. You build up 1/54th of your pensionable pay every year as future pension entitlement, revalued annually with CPI+1.5%. Even at the top contribution tier of 12.5%, the employer's contribution (around 23.7% as of 2026) plus the index-linked guaranteed benefit makes it one of the most generous workplace pension arrangements in the UK.
- How is my contribution tier calculated?
- On your annual whole-time-equivalent pensionable pay. Part-time staff are placed in the tier their full-time-equivalent salary would qualify for, so a part-time Band 6 nurse on £19,000 actual annual earnings still pays at the rate for the full-time-equivalent salary of around £38,000. Pensionable pay includes basic pay, London weighting (HCAS) and regularly received supplements like unsocial hours. It excludes overtime, on-call payments and one-off bonuses.
- Are NHS pension contributions tax-deductible?
- Yes, automatically through the 'net pay' arrangement. Your gross pay is reduced by the pension contribution before income tax is calculated, so you get full tax relief at your marginal rate. A higher-rate taxpayer paying £400 a month into the pension only sees a £240 reduction in take-home pay after tax relief.
- Can I leave the NHS Pension Scheme and pay into a personal pension instead?
- You can opt out, but it almost never makes financial sense. The NHS Pension Scheme is a defined benefit scheme with index-linked guaranteed payouts that no personal pension can match for the same contribution level. The employer contribution (around 23.7%) is lost if you opt out: it does not get redirected to your personal pension. The few situations where opting out can make sense involve specific tax issues (lifetime allowance breaches before April 2024, or tapered annual allowance issues for very high earners) and need specialist financial advice.
- What happens to my pension if I leave the NHS?
- Your accrued benefits are preserved. You can either leave them in the scheme to draw at normal pension age (the State Pension age or 65, whichever is later, for the 2015 scheme) or transfer them to another registered pension scheme. The transfer value is calculated by NHS Business Services Authority and is typically lower than the implied 'cost' of the accrued benefit because of how the actuarial assumptions work. Most leavers retain their NHS benefits rather than transferring.
- Are there separate rules for Scotland?
- Yes. NHS Scotland runs the Scottish Public Pensions Agency scheme, which is separate from the NHS Business Services Authority scheme that covers England, Wales and Northern Ireland. The structure is similar (defined benefit, CARE, 1/54th accrual) but the contribution tiers and some rules differ. Most of the figures on this page apply to the English, Welsh and Northern Irish scheme; Scottish staff should check the SPPA website for the equivalent Scottish figures.