Teachers' Pension rates for 2026/27 are 7.4% to 12% of pay in England and Wales; DfE has proposed cutting five of the six rates from April 2027.
Every teacher in the scheme pays one of six rates, picked by the salary of the post, and the employer pays a larger share on top. Below are the teachers' pension rates in force now, the rules that decide a part-timer's or an overtime earner's tier, the rates DfE has put out to consultation for April 2027, the employer's falling rate, and the separate Scottish and Northern Irish tables. A teacher who wants these deductions weighed against other savings can book a free call from an FCA-authorised adviser by sending a name and number through the form on this page. What the pension adds up to at retirement is on the Teachers' Pension calculator page.
Six tiers, 7.4% to 12%: the 2026/27 table
| Annual salary rate, from 1 April 2026 | Member contribution rate |
|---|---|
| Up to £36,198.99 | 7.4% |
| £36,199.00 to £48,727.99 | 8.9% |
| £48,728.00 to £57,776.99 | 9.9% |
| £57,777.00 to £76,572.99 | 10.5% |
| £76,573.00 to £104,413.99 | 11.6% |
| £104,414.00 and above | 12% |
Teachers' Pensions, which administers the scheme, publishes this table for the year from April 2026, and the Government Actuary's valuation report of 1 July 2026 prints the same six rates and thresholds for 2026-27. The rates did not change from 2025/26; only the thresholds moved. The bands are "updated in line with the Consumer Price Index (CPI)" each April, and CPI was 3.8% in the year to September 2025. In 2025/26 the second tier began at £34,873 and the top tier at £100,591.
Anyone reading DfE's 2027 consultation will meet a different "current structure" there, labelled 1 April 2025 to 31 March 2027, with the same six rates but lower thresholds: its first tier ends at £34,289.99. Those thresholds match neither year of the Teachers' Pensions table, so this page uses the administrator's figures, which the actuary's report repeats.
The table applies to the career average section, where every active member now builds pension: both final salary sections closed to further accrual on 31 March 2022.
Part-time posts, overtime and back pay: how the tier is chosen
Teachers' Pensions' guidance for employers sets out the test. The tier comes from your annual salary rate for the post in question, not its full-time equivalent, so a part-time teacher is placed by the salary actually paid and can fall in a lower tier than the full-time figure would give. Someone with two posts in the scheme, such as one full-time and one part-time, has each assessed on its own: "the earnings in each employment will separately determine the contribution rate" for that job, so the two can carry different rates. DfE leans on the same rule when it concludes that part-time members are not unfairly treated, because the rate rests on "actual earnings rather than their FTE".
Overtime and backdated pay rises are left out when the annual salary rate is worked out, so they do not lift you into a higher tier. They are still charged: the rate "is then applied to the 'pensionable earnings' in the pay period", and those earnings include overtime. A backdated rise is charged at the rate in force on the date it is paid.
Because the deduction is a percentage of each month's pay, the member pages say contributions are "based on the amount you earn each month" and can go up in a month when you earn more. Your payslip shows the amount; no single monthly figure fits every teacher.
The April 2027 proposal: lower rates for five tiers
The Department for Education opened a consultation on 7 August 2026 on draft regulations amending the scheme. It closes on 30 October 2026 and was still open when this page was checked on 20 October 2026. By law, members together must contribute 9.6% of pay, and the valuation report published in July 2026 found that the current rates would collect more than that. The draft therefore adjusts the tiers for 1 April 2027 to 31 March 2029:
| Annual salary band in the draft | Proposed rate from 1 April 2027 |
|---|---|
| 0 to £36,198.99 | 7.4% |
| £36,199.00 to £48,727.99 | 8.7% |
| £48,728.00 to £57,776.99 | 9.7% |
| £57,777.00 to £76,572.99 | 10.3% |
| £76,573.00 to £104,413.99 | 11.4% |
| £104,414.00 and above | 11.8% |
This is a proposal, not law. DfE says responses will be considered before the regulations are finalised, which it expects to be in force by spring 2027. As drafted, the lowest tier stays at 7.4% and the thresholds are the same figures as in 2026/27. Until the regulations are made, the 2026/27 table is what comes off your pay.
Employer contributions: 28.68% now, 17.68% planned from April 2027
Employers pay one flat percentage of pensionable pay whatever the teacher's tier. For 2026/27 Teachers' Pensions gives it as 28.68%, "including the 0.08% administration levy", and its March 2026 notice said the rate "will remain at 28.68%".
That rate is due to fall to 17.68% from 1 April 2027, on the same basis with the levy included. The Government Actuary's 2024 valuation, published on 1 July 2026, sets it for 1 April 2027 to 31 March 2031 and says the Secretary of State for Education "should make arrangements for implementing" it; Teachers' Pensions has since announced that the employer contribution rate "should reduce from 28.68% to 17.68% of pensionable pay (including the administration levy)". Before the levy, the actuary's figures are 17.6% against 28.6% now, a decrease of 11.0% of pensionable pay. Most of it comes from changed financial assumptions: the change in the SCAPE discount rate on its own reduced the rate by approximately 6.2%. The administrator adds that the reduction "will not affect the level of benefits members are building up in the Scheme".
How a pension built from both sets of contributions fits with the rest of your money is easier to judge with the whole picture in view. That is a conversation an FCA-authorised adviser can have with you by phone, free, once you leave a number in this page's form.
What the contributions buy, and the tax relief on them
In the career average section, benefits "accrue each year based on 1/57th of your pensionable earnings for that year including any overtime", and each year's banked amount is then increased under the scheme rules. The calculator page shows how that becomes a pension, how the Teachers' Pension Scheme works explains the structure, and the closed sections are covered in what a final salary pension is. Normal pension age in the career average section is State Pension age or 65, whichever is later; when you can take your Teachers' Pension has the detail.
Members can pay a higher contribution rate for faster accrual of 1/45th, 1/50th or 1/55th instead of 1/57th. The election is made within one month of starting pensionable employment and, in later years, before the end of March. Its cost is set out in faster accrual in the Teachers' Pension Scheme, and other ways to pay extra are in added pension and AVCs.
Members also "receive tax relief" on what they pay in. The general rules, Scottish rates included, are set out in what pension tax relief is; National Insurance and salary sacrifice for teachers are on tax relief and your Teachers' Pension contributions, and higher earners may want the annual allowance too.
Separate schemes for Scottish and Northern Irish teachers
Scotland and Northern Ireland run their own teachers' schemes with their own tables, so the England and Wales figures above do not apply there.
Scottish Teachers' Pension Scheme
The Scottish Public Pensions Agency's teachers circular 2026/03, dated 3 March 2026, sets these bands for 2026/27 for the Scottish Teachers' Pension Scheme 2015, based on actual pensionable pay:
| Tier | Actual pensionable pay, 2026/27 | Rate |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Up to £36,195 | 7.35% |
| 2 | £36,196 to £48,724 | 8.88% |
| 3 | £48,725 to £57,775 | 9.90% |
| 4 | £57,776 to £67,975 | 10.61% |
| 5 | £67,976 to £92,693 | 11.73% |
| 6 | £92,694 and above | 12.14% |
Thresholds normally rise with CPI so that pay awards do not push members into higher bands, but this year "the top two earning thresholds will not be increased", to keep the overall yield from falling. The circular gives the Scottish employer rate for 2026/27 as 26%. Other Scottish questions are on the Scotland and Wales page.
Northern Ireland Teachers' Pension Scheme
The Department of Education's circular 2026/11, issued on 18 February 2026, raises the bands by 3.8% from 1 April 2026, with contributions based on "annual salary rate (actual earnings)":
| Actual annual pensionable earnings from 1 April 2026 | Member rate |
|---|---|
| Up to £36,198.99 | 7.40% |
| £36,199 to £48,727.99 | 8.87% |
| £48,728 to £57,776.99 | 9.90% |
| £57,777 to £76,572.99 | 10.52% |
| £76,573 to £104,413.99 | 11.65% |
| £104,414 and above | 12.06% |
The thresholds match England and Wales, but four of the six rates differ by a fraction of a point, so the two tables should not be mixed.
Questions teachers ask about their deductions
How do I work out my monthly Teachers' Pension deduction?
Find your tier from the annual salary rate for the post, then apply that tier's percentage to the month's pensionable earnings, overtime included. Your payslip shows the result.
Is the percentage charged on all my pay or only the part above a threshold?
On all of it. The employer guidance says the contribution rate "is then applied to the 'pensionable earnings' in the pay period", so a single rate covers the whole of your pensionable pay for that period.
Why are Teachers' Pension contributions so high?
Members as a group must pay 9.6% of pay, and the scheme shares that "on a sliding scale of rates according to pensionable earnings", so higher earners pay more than 9.6% and lower earners less. The 2024 valuation found the present rates would raise more than 9.6%, which is why DfE has proposed lower rates for five tiers from April 2027.
Do the salary bands go up every year?
Usually. Teachers' Pensions says the bands "usually change each April", in line with CPI. DfE's April 2027 draft keeps the 2026/27 thresholds while changing the rates, and Scotland held its top two thresholds for 2026/27.
Does the employer's rate change what I pay?
No. Your rate comes from your tier, and the employer pays its own flat percentage on top. The planned fall to 17.68% in April 2027 does not change the benefits you build.
Your payslip, the scheme and free guidance
Your payslip and the scheme's member pages are the first places to check your tier. GOV.UK notes that MoneyHelper offers "free and impartial information" and that Pension Wise does not cover career average or final salary pensions. If talking it through would help, an FCA-authorised adviser rings teachers back without charge when asked through this page's form.
Sources
- Teachers' Pensions, Changes to member contributions (updated 3 March 2026)
- Teachers' Pensions, Changes to employer contributions from 1 April 2027, read 20 October 2026
- Teachers' Pensions, Understand how much you'll pay (updated 12 May 2026)
- Teachers' Pensions, Calculating contributions (updated 11 May 2026)
- Department for Education, Teachers' Pension Scheme Miscellaneous (Amendment) Regulations consultation (launched 7 August 2026)
- Government Actuary's Department, Teachers' Pension Scheme (England and Wales) 2024 Actuarial Valuation Results (1 July 2026)
- Scottish Public Pensions Agency, Teachers Circular 2026/03 (3 March 2026)
- Department of Education (Northern Ireland), Circular 2026/11 (18 February 2026)
- GOV.UK, Personal pensions: your rights, Get help, read 20 October 2026