Pension on a £35,000 salary — approaching higher rate.

£35,000 is solidly above median UK earnings. You pay around £4,486 in income tax and £1,794 in employee NI per year, leaving take-home of approximately £28,720. You're still around £15,000 below the higher rate threshold, but every pay rise from here brings you closer to the 40% band. The tactical insight: increase your pension contribution rate now, while you're still a basic rate taxpayer, so that when you do cross into higher rate territory the contribution rate is already established as a habit and you immediately start benefiting from 40% relief on the marginal contributions. Salary sacrifice on £35k also produces meaningful NI savings — sacrificing £200/month saves you around £200/year in employee NI alone, on top of the income tax relief.