NHS Pension Scheme Contributions 2026/27 Explained
Your NHS pension comes with a 23.7% employer top-up. Opt out and you walk away from roughly £8,000 a year on a Band 5 salary. Most NHS staff miss this.
NHS member contribution tiers, 2026/27
| Pensionable pay | Member rate |
|---|---|
| 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% |
Tiers indexed to CPI from April 2026. Employer pays 23.7% on top, regardless of band.
Key takeaways
Almost every NHS worker is now in the 2015 Career Average (CARE) scheme, even those who started under the 1995 or 2008 final-salary sections
Member contributions for 2026/27 are tiered from 5.2% to 12.5% by pensionable pay, with most Band 5 and 6 staff paying 8.3% or 9.8%
The employer pays 23.7% on top of every band, which makes opting out the single worst financial decision an NHS worker can make
The McCloud remedy lets anyone with NHS service between April 2015 and March 2022 choose between the legacy and reformed scheme for that window, decided at retirement