Workplace Pension Calculator 2026/27
Your workplace pension is typically the largest private source of retirement income you will ever have. Understanding how your contributions, your employer's contributions, tax relief and investment growth combine over time is essential for knowing whether you are saving enough. This calculator projects your final pension pot using compound growth, shows how much of the pot comes from your own contributions versus your employer's top-up and investment returns, and compares your contributions against the auto-enrolment minimums. A growth chart illustrates how your pot builds year by year.
How the workplace pension calculation works
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1Monthly contributions are calculated from salary
Your contribution percentage and your employer's are applied to your total gross salary (not qualifying earnings for this calculator, see the note below on auto-enrolment). These are added to any existing pot you have entered.
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2Compound growth is applied monthly
The annual growth rate is divided by 12 and applied to the pot each month, before that month's contributions are added. This is a standard compound growth model. Charges are not deducted in this calculation, typical fund charges of 0.5–1% would reduce the projected pot.
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3Auto-enrolment minimums are checked
The calculator flags whether your entered contributions meet the legal auto-enrolment minimums of 5% employee and 3% employer (8% total). Note that auto-enrolment minimums officially apply to qualifying earnings only (£6,240 to £50,270), not total salary.
2026/27 auto-enrolment rates
| Item | Value |
|---|---|
| Employee minimum contribution | 5% (includes basic rate tax relief) |
| Employer minimum contribution | 3% |
| Total minimum contribution | 8% |
| Qualifying earnings lower threshold | £6,240 |
| Qualifying earnings upper threshold | £50,270 |
What your results mean
The projected pot figure shows what your pension could be worth at retirement if contributions and growth continue at the rates you have entered. It is expressed in today's money, it does not account for inflation. In real terms, the purchasing power of the pot will be lower. For a more conservative view, reduce the growth rate by around 2–3% to allow for inflation.
The employer contribution is valuable, do not undersell it
Your employer's pension contribution is part of your total pay package. If your employer contributes 5% of your salary into your pension, that is effectively a 5% pay rise that you only receive if you are enrolled. Many people opt out of workplace pensions to boost take-home pay, but in doing so they forfeit the employer contribution entirely.
Tax relief makes pension saving more efficient than ISAs for higher earners
Basic rate taxpayers effectively pay £80 to make a £100 pension contribution, because the pension provider claims basic rate relief from HMRC. Higher rate taxpayers can reduce the cost to £60 per £100 by claiming additional relief through self-assessment. This tax advantage has no equivalent in ISA saving. Use the Pension Tax Relief Calculator to see your exact figures.
Note on charges: This calculator does not deduct fund charges. A typical pension fund charges 0.5–1% per year. Over 30 years, a 1% annual charge could reduce your pot by 20–25%. Check your pension's total expense ratio and consider switching to a lower-cost fund if yours exceeds 1%.
Frequently asked questions
Under auto-enrolment rules, the minimum total contribution is 8% of qualifying earnings. Of this, at least 3% must come from your employer, and at least 5% from you (which includes basic rate tax relief). Qualifying earnings are defined as the portion of your salary between £6,240 and £50,270 in 2026/27. Many employers contribute more than the minimum, particularly in the public sector or as part of salary sacrifice arrangements.
A commonly cited rule of thumb is to save half your age as a percentage of your salary. So if you start pension saving at 30, you should aim to contribute around 15% in total (employee and employer combined). This is a rough guide, the right amount depends on your target retirement income, how long you have to save, and what you expect to receive from the state pension. Use the Retirement Savings Gap calculator to work out a target based on your actual circumstances.
A growth rate of 5–7% per year before charges is a reasonable long-term assumption for a balanced investment pension fund. To express this in real (inflation-adjusted) terms, subtract your inflation assumption (typically 2–3%). This gives a real return of 2–5% per year. For a cautious scenario, use 4% nominal. For an optimistic scenario, use 7–8%. The projections are highly sensitive to growth rate, try different values to see the range of possible outcomes.
Yes, pension contributions receive tax relief. For relief-at-source pensions (the most common type for personal and workplace pensions), you pay in from your net pay and the pension provider adds basic rate relief (20%) from HMRC. Higher rate taxpayers can claim additional relief through self-assessment. For salary sacrifice arrangements, contributions are deducted before income tax and NI, so you save on both. See the Pension Tax Relief Calculator for detailed figures.
Yes. You can contribute up to 100% of your earnings into a pension, or up to the annual allowance of £60,000 (2026/27), whichever is lower. Contributions above the auto-enrolment minimum may or may not receive additional employer matching, this depends on your employer's scheme rules. Some employers will match contributions above the minimum up to a certain level, which is effectively free money worth claiming if your employer offers it.
Disclaimer: This calculator provides estimates for guidance purposes only. It does not account for fund charges, inflation, or salary changes over time. It does not constitute financial advice. Always consult a regulated financial adviser for personal pension planning.