NHS pension for a Band 9 Very Senior Manager — the highest AfC band — and the highest pension stakes.

Band 9 is the ceiling of the Agenda for Change framework, occupied by a small number of very senior managers — typically deputy chief executives, directors of strategy, and a handful of senior clinical leaders who have not moved onto VSM contracts. Pay runs from £112,782 to £129,783 in 2026/27, with this calculator pre-filled at the £121,283 midpoint. At this salary, the personal allowance taper applies in full (income above £125,140 means complete loss of the allowance), creating an effective marginal rate of 60% between £100k and £125,140. The annual allowance taper itself usually does not apply at Band 9 on its own (threshold income would need to exceed £200,000 and adjusted income £260,000 once pension growth is added), but it can bite for those with significant outside income or in years with large pay rises. Either way, the pension input amount can approach the £60,000 annual allowance in any year of meaningful pay growth. The pension itself remains exceptionally valuable. Even accounting for Scheme Pays deductions, the defined benefit promise — guaranteed income for life, inflation-linked, with survivor benefits — is something no private sector worker at this salary could replicate without saving a very large proportion of their income into a SIPP. Band 9 staff should review their annual allowance position every year and consider using carry-forward from the three preceding years to smooth out spikes.