Pay and contributions

The updated contributions tiers have been agreed and are applicable from 1 April 2026

You must make the necessary adjustments and collect any member contributions due.

Information about calculating member pay, protection of pay and contribution tiers.

Pay

What counts as pensionable pay

Pensionable earnings are determined by the member's employment or engagement terms.

Certain earnings are included or excluded for a member who is employed by:

an NHS organisation
a GP surgery
a non-GP provider
a direction body
an independent provider

For these members, their pensionable earnings include:

salary
wages
fees

Their pensionable earnings exclude:

bonuses
payments to cover expenses
payments for overtime in excess of full-time equivalent hours
non-consolidated pay awards or increases

There is specific guidance for members who are engaged as:

general medical practitioners
non-GP providers
general dental practitioners

Their pensionable earnings are explained in:

the GP providers and non-GP providers certificate of pensionable income and other GP pension forms on our information for practitioners and non-GP providers page
the guide for NHS general dental practitioners (PDF: 348KB)

Their pensionable earnings exclude non-NHS income.

You can contact us if you have any queries about pensionable pay, or performance related pay or bonuses.

1995 Section

Find out more about pensionable pay for 1995 Section members:

Total pensionable pay periods (PDF: 67.1KB)Notional whole time pensionable pay (PDF: 150KB)Earnings cap (PDF: 203KB)How to calculate a composite total pensionable pay (PDF: 136KB)

2008 Section

Find out more about pensionable pay for 2008 Section members:

Total reckonable pay (PDF: 235KB)You can get more information about the 2008 Section Earnings Cap in our Earnings Cap guidance (PDF: 203KB)

Protection of pay

Our Protection of pay and voluntary protection of pay - guide for employers (Word: 116KB) has further information about:

Protection of pay (1995 / 2008 Scheme)
Voluntary protection of pay (1995 Section only)

If you have any enquires you can use the request to protect pensionable pay (SM R9 EA) form (Word: 255KB)

Deemed pay

Deemed pay is pay that would have been paid to a member, if they had not been absent from duty.

You can find out more information in the deemed pay factsheet (PDF: 87.9KB).

Final salary linking

Final salary linking - guide for employers (Word: 132KB)

Pensionable additional hours for part-time NHS staff

Additional hours worked up to whole time equivalent (WTE) are automatically pensionable for part-time NHS staff.

The NHSBSA has published updated guidance about the changes to the 2015 NHS Pension Scheme regulations for part-time NHS staff.

Most NHS employers have correctly treated additional hours for part-time NHS staff as pensionable pay. In this case the NHS Pension Scheme member should have paid the right amount in contributions, and their additional hours will be reflected in their final pension.

Who is affected by the changes

Active, deferred and pensioner members who:

worked part-time since 1 April 2015
worked additional hours between 1 April 2015 and 31 March 2024
have not had those additional hours treated as pensionable

Any additional hours above the whole time equivalent remains non-pensionable for part-time and full-time staff.

What employers need to do

Employers must write to all affected staff to confirm:

the employee and employer contributions payable
pensionable pay
membership in respect of the contributions

You need to give affected Scheme members the option to pay the difference in pension contributions. This means they'll add additional hours to their pensionable service.

They’ll have 3 months to decide.

An employer can extend this this timescale if a Scheme member needs extra time to make their decision. The final closing date for all elections is 1 July 2026.

Tools and support

We have published an NHS Pensions Employer Toolkit that includes guidance for employers and Scheme members, and letter templates that you can use to contact your staff who are affected by the changes.

Contributions

Member contributions to either the main NHS Pension Scheme or the NHS Money Purchase Pension Scheme cannot be paid by salary sacrifice.

The tier ranges will be revised from 1 April 2026 in line with the Consumer Price Index (CPI).

Member contributions from 1 April 2026

Pensionable pay range from 1 April 2026	Contribution rates from 1 April 2026, based on actual annual pensionable pay
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%

The contributions paid are based on the member’s actual annual pensionable pay. Any increase in their actual annual pensionable pay may push them into the next pay range. If this happens, contributions will be payable at the revised contribution rate for all of their pensionable pay from 1 April 2026. This may also mean that from 1 April 2026 some members may move to a lower contribution rate, and any overpaid contributions must be returned.

You can contact us if you have any queries about contributions.

Factsheets

Visit the employer information page for guidance on the changes to member contributions introduced from 1 April 2024.

Read the factsheets for other contribution guidance you may need:
Outstanding contributions factsheet (PDF: 38.9KB)Call up of reservists (PDF: 108KB)

Archived contributions