Pension on a £70,000 salary — ramping into higher rate.

£70,000 puts you well above median earnings — top 15% of UK workers. Your income tax is around £15,432, NI around £3,194. About £19,730 of your salary sits above the higher rate threshold and is taxed at 40%. For families, HICBC has reduced child benefit by around 50% at this income level. The opportunity: £10,000 of pension contribution at £70k costs you roughly £5,800 net after 40% tax relief, NI savings (with sacrifice), and partial HICBC restoration. Over 30 years of contributing at this rate the pot grows to around £700,000 at 5% net growth. The biggest mistake higher-rate taxpayers at £70k make is contributing the workplace minimum (often 5%) and walking away — the marginal tax efficiency of additional contributions is so high that 15-20% personal contribution rates are usually warranted.