**Fictional sample. No customer, professional review or payroll acceptance is represented.**

# Employer pension comparison

**Unapproved planning draft — supplied inputs, not verified employee outcomes.**

Prepared UTC: 2026-10-29T12:00:00.000Z. Planning rates: 2026/27. Tax region: scotland. Policy effective date: 2029-04-06. Model: 2026-09-27.1. Configuration: 2026.09-demo.5. Campaign: salary-sacrifice-2029.

## Policy and scope

Current arrangement:

- Current NI treatment: The full valid pension salary sacrifice is treated as exempt from employee and employer National Insurance.

- Pension method: salary-sacrifice; pensionable pay: base-pay.

- Employee contribution: 5% default, 0%–40% supported; 5% fixed employer contribution.

- Employer NI saving shared with pension: 0%. Salary sacrifice NI exemption limit: current treatment.

Compared policy:

- Announced April 2029 treatment: The first £2,000 of annual pension salary sacrifice is modelled as exempt from National Insurance; the excess is modelled as employee and employer NI-able.

- Pension method: salary-sacrifice; pensionable pay: base-pay.

- Employee contribution: 5% default, 0%–40% supported; 5% fixed employer contribution.

- Employer NI saving shared with pension: 0%. Salary sacrifice NI exemption limit: £2,000.00 annually.

## Annual employer comparison

| Role and scenario | People modelled | Current employer cost | Compared employer cost | Reform effect | Additional policy effect | Total cost change | Employer pension change | Total pension funding change | Employer NI change |
|---|---:|---:|---:|---:|---:|---:|---:|---:|---:|
| Baseline comparison: Fictional employer — same contributions | 100 | £5,529,750.00 | £5,538,000.00 | £8,250.00 | £0.00 | £8,250.00 | £0.00 | £0.00 | £8,250.00 |
| Alternative 1: Fictional employer — employee contribution 6% | 100 | £5,529,750.00 | £5,536,200.00 | £8,250.00 | -£1,800.00 | £6,450.00 | £0.00 | £47,000.00 | £6,450.00 |
| Alternative 2: Fictional employer — employee contribution 7% | 100 | £5,529,750.00 | £5,535,000.00 | £8,250.00 | -£3,000.00 | £5,250.00 | £0.00 | £94,000.00 | £5,250.00 |

The reform effect holds contribution terms constant. The additional policy effect is measured after applying the reform. Representative counts and averages do not establish actual affected employee headcount.

## Representative employee monthly examples

These are one-person examples at each band average, not payroll results for every person in the band.

| Scenario | Band | People represented | Salary | Current employee contribution | Compared contribution | Current monthly take-home | Compared monthly take-home | Monthly change per representative person |
|---|---|---:|---:|---:|---:|---:|---:|---:|
| Fictional employer — same contributions | Operations | 40 | £30,000.00 | 5% | 5% | £2,006.61 | £2,006.61 | £0.00 |
| Fictional employer — same contributions | Professional | 40 | £50,000.00 | 5% | 5% | £3,064.46 | £3,061.13 | -£3.33 |
| Fictional employer — same contributions | Senior | 20 | £75,000.00 | 5% | 5% | £4,158.95 | £4,156.03 | -£2.92 |
| Fictional employer — employee contribution 6% | Operations | 40 | £30,000.00 | 5% | 6% | £2,006.61 | £1,988.61 | -£18.00 |
| Fictional employer — employee contribution 6% | Professional | 40 | £50,000.00 | 5% | 6% | £3,064.46 | £3,036.96 | -£27.50 |
| Fictional employer — employee contribution 6% | Senior | 20 | £75,000.00 | 5% | 6% | £4,158.95 | £4,119.78 | -£39.17 |
| Fictional employer — employee contribution 7% | Operations | 40 | £30,000.00 | 5% | 7% | £2,006.61 | £1,969.94 | -£36.67 |
| Fictional employer — employee contribution 7% | Professional | 40 | £50,000.00 | 5% | 7% | £3,064.46 | £3,012.80 | -£51.67 |
| Fictional employer — employee contribution 7% | Senior | 20 | £75,000.00 | 5% | 7% | £4,158.95 | £4,083.53 | -£75.42 |

## Representative band assumptions and annual effects

| Scenario | Band | Bonus | Bonus sacrifice | NI category | Weekly hours | Minimum wage category | Employer cost change | Employer pension change | Total pension funding change | Employer NI change | Employee NI change |
|---|---|---:|---:|---|---:|---|---:|---:|---:|---:|---:|
| Fictional employer — same contributions | Operations | £0.00 | £0.00 | A | 37.5 | age-21-plus | £0.00 | £0.00 | £0.00 | £0.00 | £0.00 |
| Fictional employer — same contributions | Professional | £0.00 | £0.00 | A | 37.5 | age-21-plus | £3,000.00 | £0.00 | £0.00 | £3,000.00 | £1,600.00 |
| Fictional employer — same contributions | Senior | £0.00 | £0.00 | A | 37.5 | age-21-plus | £5,250.00 | £0.00 | £0.00 | £5,250.00 | £700.00 |
| Fictional employer — employee contribution 6% | Operations | £0.00 | £0.00 | A | 37.5 | age-21-plus | -£1,800.00 | £0.00 | £12,000.00 | -£1,800.00 | -£960.00 |
| Fictional employer — employee contribution 6% | Professional | £0.00 | £0.00 | A | 37.5 | age-21-plus | £3,000.00 | £0.00 | £20,000.00 | £3,000.00 | £1,600.00 |
| Fictional employer — employee contribution 6% | Senior | £0.00 | £0.00 | A | 37.5 | age-21-plus | £5,250.00 | £0.00 | £15,000.00 | £5,250.00 | £700.00 |
| Fictional employer — employee contribution 7% | Operations | £0.00 | £0.00 | A | 37.5 | age-21-plus | -£3,000.00 | £0.00 | £24,000.00 | -£3,000.00 | -£1,600.00 |
| Fictional employer — employee contribution 7% | Professional | £0.00 | £0.00 | A | 37.5 | age-21-plus | £3,000.00 | £0.00 | £40,000.00 | £3,000.00 | £1,600.00 |
| Fictional employer — employee contribution 7% | Senior | £0.00 | £0.00 | A | 37.5 | age-21-plus | £5,250.00 | £0.00 | £30,000.00 | £5,250.00 | £700.00 |

## Limitations and sources

Representative-band estimate, not an actual affected employee count. Averages can hide people above or below thresholds. Split bands by annual pension sacrifice, NI category, hours and contribution basis; check individual outcomes before decisions.

Excluded arrangements:

- Final 2029 payroll reporting and pay-period allocation rules that HMRC has not yet published

- Future tax, National Insurance, student-loan and minimum-wage rates that have not yet been published

- Employer policy redesign, employee opt-out behaviour and contribution changes unless explicitly configured

- Directors' annual National Insurance method, Employment Allowance and Apprenticeship Levy

- Individual pension annual allowance, tapering, money purchase annual allowance or carry-forward assessment

Sources:

- https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/changes-to-salary-sacrifice-for-pensions-from-april-2029/changes-to-salary-sacrifice-for-pensions-from-april-2029

- https://www.gov.uk/guidance/rates-and-thresholds-for-employers-2026-to-2027

- https://plainlyfinance.co.uk/methodology/

## Review and delivery

- Prepared by: To complete

- Policy facts checked by: To complete

- Assumptions accepted by: Not recorded

- Customer approval: Not recorded

- Exact delivered version and date: To complete

- Decision and next action: To complete