The Salary Calculator

Auto-enrolment pensions

I’ve been dragging my feet on this one (sorry), but I have finally added an option to the Salary Calculator for auto-enrolment pensions, which employers are obliged to offer to eligible employees if there is not already an employer pension scheme. These pensions involve a percentage being deducted from your pay, but only on what you earn over a certain threshold (£6,032 for the tax year from April 2018). There is also an upper threshold, above which deductions are not taken – £46,350 for the April 2018 tax year.

To use the new option, enter your details in to The Salary Calculator. On the Pension tab, select the “Auto-enrolment” option and enter the percentage of your salary that you will be contributing. Click “Go!” to see the results.

Auto-enrolment pensions also require your employer to contribute to your pension, but I have not yet added this to The Salary Calculator – so enter only the percentage that you will be contributing (your employer’s contribution does not affect your take-home pay).

From 6th April 2018 the minimum amount employees are required to pay into their auto-enrolment pension increases from 1% of their pay to 3% (and from April 2019 it increases further to 5%). This can make quite a difference to your take-home pay – try it out on the Salary Calculator and see what a difference it makes!

Tags: income tax, Pay As You Earn, pension, pension scheme, Pensions, The Salary Calculator

Savings and investment help from Hargreaves Lansdown

If you are trying to save for your retirement, or just for a rainy day, it can be difficult to understand what your options are and what is best for you. Should you get an ISA (Individual Savings Account), or a SIPP (Self Invested Personal Pension)? What are the pros and cons of each, and why might you open a savings account instead?

Fortunately, Hargreaves Lansdown have created a series of guides intended to help you make the most of your savings – the guides are free to download, all they ask is that you provide some registration details. If you would like to know more about investing for the future and the tax benefits of doing so, try their introduction to SIPPs, or the beginner’s guide to ISAs.

Also of interest to readers of The Salary Calculator might be the calculators on Hargreaves Lansdown’s site which can help you plan for your retirement.

Tags: calculators, Hargreaves Lansdown, investments, ISAs, pension, personal pension, savings, SIPPs