What this calculator works out
This calculator adds up everything going into your workplace pension in a year: your own percentage contribution, your employer's percentage contribution, and any extra fixed monthly amount you pay on top.
It shows the total and splits it between employee and employer, which is the figure most people underestimate. The employer contribution is part of your remuneration, and leaving it on the table is one of the more expensive things you can do.
Enter your details
Before you enter your figures
- Check whether contributions are based on full salary or qualifying earnings. Auto-enrolment minimums often apply only to a band of earnings, which reduces the actual amounts considerably.
- Find your employer's matching rules. Many will pay more if you do — a common structure matches up to 5% or 6%, and stopping short of the match is turning down money.
- Note whether contributions are made by salary sacrifice, which changes what they cost you in take-home pay.
- Use your pensionable salary, which may exclude bonuses and overtime.
The figures here are the gross amounts going into the pension. In a relief-at-source scheme, a basic rate taxpayer contributing £80 has £100 credited, and higher rate taxpayers can claim further relief through Self Assessment. In a net pay or salary sacrifice arrangement, the relief is given automatically through payroll instead.
How this calculator works
Three components, added together:
Employee = pensionable salary × employee %
Employer = pensionable salary × employer %
Extra = additional monthly contribution × 12
Total = employee + employer + extraThe split shown separates what you pay from what your employer pays, so you can see the return on your own contribution. It does not model investment growth or charges — the Regular Savings Calculator will project the pot forward if you want that.
Worked example: a £35,000 salary
Using the default figures — £35,000 pensionable salary, 5% employee and 3% employer, with no extra contribution:
- Employee contribution: £35,000 × 5% = £1,750
- Employer contribution: £35,000 × 3% = £1,050
- Total into the pension: £2,800 a year
Your £1,750 attracts £1,050 from your employer — a 60% return before the pension has invested anything. If this employer matched contributions up to 5%, raising your contribution by two percentage points (£700) would bring in another £700 of employer money. Very few other decisions offer that.
Common mistakes
- Contributing below the employer match. The unmatched portion is money declined.
- Assuming contributions are based on full salary. Auto-enrolment minimums often use a narrower band of qualifying earnings.
- Opting out to increase take-home pay. This forfeits the employer contribution and the tax relief as well as the saving.
- Forgetting to claim higher rate relief. In relief-at-source schemes it is not automatic and must be claimed.
- Losing track of old pensions. Small pots from previous jobs are easily forgotten and easily found again.
Frequently asked questions
How much should I be contributing?
At minimum, enough to secure the full employer match — anything less is declining part of your pay. Beyond that, a frequently cited rule of thumb is to contribute a percentage equal to half your age when you start, so someone beginning at 30 aims for around 15% including the employer contribution. It is a rough heuristic rather than a calculation; the Pension Gap Checker gives a more personal answer.
What are qualifying earnings?
A band of earnings used for auto-enrolment minimums, with a lower and upper limit. Contributions apply only within the band, so someone on £35,000 may have contributions calculated on roughly £28,000 rather than the full salary. Many employers contribute on full salary instead, which is more generous. Your scheme documentation will say which applies.
Can I pay in more than the minimum?
Yes, either by increasing your regular percentage or by making additional contributions. Tax relief is available on contributions up to the annual allowance or 100% of your earnings, whichever is lower, and unused allowance from the previous three years can sometimes be carried forward.
What happens to pensions from old jobs?
They stay invested with the provider and remain yours. You can usually leave them, or consolidate them into one scheme, though consolidation can mean losing valuable guarantees on older policies — take advice before transferring anything with a guaranteed annuity rate or defined benefit promise. The government's Pension Tracing Service can help find lost pots.
Is my salary information stored?
No. Everything is processed in your browser and never transmitted or retained.
Related tools
References
- GOV.UK — workplace pensions, auto-enrolment, qualifying earnings and the Pension Tracing Service
- MoneyHelper — free pension guidance, including the government-backed Pension Wise service
Sources are checked at publication and can change — how I choose and check references.