NHS pension for a Specialty Registrar — mid-training pay with a consultant pension ahead.

Specialty registrars are in the middle of a long training pipeline — typically ST3 to ST7 or ST8 depending on specialty. Following the 2024 resident-doctor pay deal, basic pay sits at £52,656 (ST1–2), £65,048 (ST3–5), and £73,992 (ST6–8) for 2025/26. With on-call intensity, banding, and weekend supplements, total pensionable pay for mid-to-late registrars typically falls in the £70,000–£95,000 range; this calculator pre-fills at £78,000 as a representative figure. This training phase usually lasts five to eight years, and the pension accrued during it forms a meaningful chunk of lifetime benefits. At £78,000, annual CARE accrual is about £1,444, and with revaluation these registrar-year pots will be worth considerably more by retirement. Registrars face a unique planning challenge: they know their income will jump on CCT and consultant appointment, but cannot predict exactly when or at what salary. For registrars who entered medical school before 2015 and held NHS employment during earlier degrees or gap years, the McCloud remedy period is directly relevant — they may have been in the 2008 section during foundation training and then transitioned to the 2015 scheme. Understanding which option is better requires modelling both scenarios, which NHSBSA will provide at the point of retirement.