Your NHS pension contributions
The amount you pay towards your pension scheme depends on your ‘pensionable pay’ (which is your salary, wages, fees and any other regular payments but not any bonuses, expenses or overtime payments).
For officers this is based on your previous year’s earnings. If you are a practitioner, we’ll use earnings in the current year. If you work part-time, your contribution rate is worked out using your whole time equivalent pensionable pay.
Your pension contributions are deducted from your monthly salary by your employer and you receive income tax relief on your contributions.
Your employer contributes an amount equal to 20.9% of your pensionable pay into the scheme on your behalf.
Current contribution rates for the NHS Scotland Pension Scheme 2015 are shown in the table below:
Whole time pensionable pay |
Percentage contribution 2020-2021 |
| Up to £18,936 | 5.2% |
| £18,937 to £23,228 | 5.8% |
| £23,229 to £28,891 | 7.3% |
| £28,892 to £56,266 | 9.5% |
| £56,267 to £79,801 | 12.7% |
| £79,802 to £117,960 | 13.7% |
| £117,961 and above | 14.7% |