Request

I am aware that members who are in the process of accruing NHS pensions pay different rates depending on their salary

I wondered if for each of the past ten tax years (or a shorter time frame if this isn’t possible) you were able to give me the number and proportion of staff that accruing pensions that paid each of the pensionable pay ranges and contribution rates for that year.

Response

I can confirm that the NHSBSA holds the information you have requested and a copy of the information is attached.

Please read the below notes to ensure correct understanding of the data.

Members are counted in each contribution bracket for every year they paid contributions. If a member had more than one job with different contribution rates in the same year, they may be counted more than once for that year.

Some member’s records have missing or invalid contribution rates. These are shown as NULL rows in the output file and are included to keep the percentage calculations accurate. A member’s record is only included if an annual update was received for that year. Records without updates are excluded, so the data may not show all ongoing employments for that year.

From 1 April 2015 to 30 September 2022, the same contribution tiers were used. New tiers were introduced on 1 October 2022, which split the 2022/23 scheme year. However, our system only holds one contribution entry per year. For members whose employment spanned the change, the latest contribution rate is shown, even if they contributed at a different rate earlier in the year.

Contribution rates are based on a member’s actual pensionable pay. Members may not have worked full-time or for the entire year, so these figures should not be taken as a reflection of actual net pay.

More information can be found on our website: https://www.nhsbsa.nhs.uk/employer-hub/technical-guidance/pay-and-contributions

SchemeYearStart: The start of the respective scheme year (01/04)

SchemeYearEnd: The end of the respective scheme year (31/03)

ContRateEffectiveFrom: The date the set of contribution rates were effective from

ContRateEffectiveTo: The date the set of contribution rates were effective to

MinimumPayBracket: The minimum annual salary required to pay contributions at the respective rate

MaximumPayBracket: The minimum annual salary required to pay contributions at the respective rate

ContributionRate: The rate which pension contributions were deducted from pay

Volume: The volume of unique members paying contributions at the respective contribution rate in the given year

ProportionOfYear: The percentage split of members paying contributions at the respective rate in that year (some members may be counted against multiple rates)

Data Queries

Please contact foirequests@nhsbsa.nhs.uk ensuring you quote the above reference if you have any specific questions regarding this response; or, if you feel you may be misunderstanding or misinterpreting the information; or, if you plan on publishing the data.

Reusing the data and copyright

If you plan on producing a press or broadcast story based upon the data please contact communicationsteam@nhsbsa.nhs.uk. This is important to ensure that the figures are not misunderstood or misrepresented.

The information supplied to you continues to be protected by the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 and is subject to NHSBSA copyright. This information is licenced under the terms of the Open Government Licence detailed at:

http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/

Should you wish to re-use the information you must include the following statement: “NHSBSA Copyright 2025”. Failure to do so is a breach of the terms of the licence.

Information you receive which is not subject to NHSBSA Copyright continues to be protected by the copyright of the person, or organisation, from which the information originated. Please obtain their permission before reproducing any third party (non NHSBSA Copyright) information.