Pension on a £150,000 salary — the high earner playbook.

£150,000 puts you in the top 2% of UK earners. You're well into the additional rate band — around £24,860 of your income is taxed at 45%, plus you've lost your entire personal allowance to the taper. Your total income tax bill is around £52,432 plus NI of around £4,194. At this salary band, the typical pattern of low workplace pension contributions becomes financially indefensible: every £1 of pension contribution between £125,140 and £150,000 saves 47% in tax and NI (with sacrifice), and every £1 between £100k and £125,140 saves 62%. Modelling suggests that contributing 25-30% of gross salary into a pension is genuinely optimal for someone on £150k who plans to stay in the UK. The annual allowance of £60,000 starts to become the binding constraint rather than affordability. Tapered annual allowance also begins to apply when adjusted income exceeds £260,000.