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Salary-sacrifice pension calculator, with the 2029 cap.
See what sacrificing part of your salary into a pension does to your take-home pay, National Insurance (employee and employer) and the amount landing in your pension — under today’s rules and under the enacted £2,000 National Insurance cap that starts on 6 April 2029. Every figure is a deterministic tax- engine calculation, not a recommendation.
Under current rules
Sacrificing £5,000 a year on a £45,000 salary, using 2026/27 rates.
Cost per £1 in the pension
£0.63
From 6 April 2029 (enacted cap)
Sacrifices up to £2,000 a year keep the full National Insurance exemption; amounts above it lose it, and both employee and employer National Insurance apply to the excess. Income tax relief is unchanged.
Cost per £1 in the pension
£0.72
Keep these figures
EnoughDay will carry only the fields this calculator identifies. You will review wrapper totals before the plan can be saved.
- Gross salary
- Entered annual salary sacrifice as a pension contribution
- Income-tax region
How this is calculated
Each scenario is run through the same deterministic tax engine used across EnoughDay. Money is held in integer pence at the compute boundary and formatted for display. The full method and sources are on the methodology page.
Salary sacrifice reduces gross pay, so it lowers Income Tax, employee National Insurance and employer National Insurance together. The amount sacrificed, plus any employer National Insurance passed on, is what reaches the pension.
Worked example: a £45,000 salary sacrificing £5,000 a year lowers take-home by £3,600 and puts £5,750 into the pension under current rules. From 6 April 2029 the £3,000 above the £2,000 exemption adds £240 employee and £450 employer National Insurance, so take-home falls a further £240 and the pension by £450.
The 2029 figures use the enacted £2,000 National Insurance exemption cap. Income Tax relief on the contribution is unchanged; only the National Insurance treatment of the excess changes. These are planning figures, not personal advice.
- Changes to salary sacrifice for pensions from April 2029 (GOV.UK)
- National Insurance Contributions (Employer Pensions Contributions) Act 2026 (UK Parliament)
- National Insurance Contributions (Employer Pensions Contributions) Bill — briefing (House of Commons Library)
- Rates and thresholds for employers 2026 to 2027 (GOV.UK)
- Income Tax rates and Personal Allowances (GOV.UK)
FAQ
Does salary sacrifice into a pension save National Insurance?
Yes, under current rules. Sacrificing salary reduces your gross pay, so it lowers Income Tax, employee National Insurance and the employer's National Insurance. The amount given up goes into the pension instead. This tool shows all three savings separately for the salary and sacrifice entered.
What is the £2,000 salary-sacrifice cap starting in April 2029?
From 6 April 2029 only the first £2,000 of pension contributions made by salary sacrifice each year keeps its National Insurance exemption. Where the amount sacrificed is above £2,000, the excess is charged National Insurance — for the employee at their marginal rate and for the employer at the secondary rate. Income tax relief on the contribution is unaffected.
How much does salary sacrifice cost me in take-home pay?
The net cost is the sacrifice minus the Income Tax and employee National Insurance it saves. In the worked example — a £45,000 salary sacrificing £5,000 — take-home falls by £3,600 while £5,750 lands in the pension. The calculator shows the cost per £1 in the pension for your own figures.
Do employers save National Insurance on salary sacrifice too?
Yes. Because the sacrifice lowers gross pay, the employer pays less secondary (employer) National Insurance. Some schemes add that employer saving into the pension; the toggle in the tool turns that arrangement on or off so both outcomes are visible.
Will the 2029 change reduce income tax relief on pensions?
No. The enacted change affects National Insurance only. Salary-sacrificed pension contributions keep their Income Tax relief in full above the £2,000 threshold; it is the National Insurance exemption that is capped.
Is the salary-sacrifice National Insurance cap actually law?
Enacted enabling legislation. The National Insurance Contributions (Employer Pensions Contributions) Act 2026 received Royal Assent on 29 April 2026 and requires the first cap on the salary-sacrifice National Insurance exemption to be GBP2,000 a year. The cap takes effect from 6 April 2029, with detailed rules set by regulations under the Act.
How does the cap change the amount going into my pension above £2,000?
Your own sacrifice above £2,000 still goes into the pension, but you pay employee National Insurance on that excess, so take-home falls. Where the employer passes on its National Insurance saving, that top-up shrinks because the employer now pays National Insurance on the excess too. The 2029 panel shows both effects for the amount entered.