Retirement AtlasA clearer view of retirement.

37 countries · One shared comparison · Confirmed payment amounts

Contribution cost calculator

Compare your own required, voluntary and approved back payments. Keep employer funding and cash tax savings separate.

Policy sources checked 4 October 2026 · Review due before 1 January 2027

The arithmetic is the same in every country, so this is one tool rather than 37 copies. Choose your country to set the currency and load its scheme summary and three-step checklist. The rules, conditions and official sources behind that checklist are in the country contribution guides.

Country context

Choose a country to load its checklist

The country you choose in the form sets the currency and shows that country’s scheme summary, checklist and policy guide here. Without JavaScript, use the country list below.

Your payment comparison

Use amounts for the same selected period, with no currency conversion. Keep the official record or quote available.

1. Your country

Sets the currency and loads that country’s scheme summary, checklist and policy guide. Changing country clears entered amounts and confirmations. The arithmetic is the same for every country.

2. Your own commitment

Use your assessed or payroll amount, before any cash tax saving entered below. Include only the schemes you want to compare. Enter 0 if none.

Separate your own share from employer/government funding. A zero entry also requires checking.

Money you pay or gross pay you give up for an accepted optional contribution. Do not include employer money or government credits here.

Use the accepted quote, including any surcharge. A missing year alone does not establish that you can pay for it.

Check your eligibility, the specific periods and deadline. This comparison does not approve a payment.

3. Other funding and cash tax savings

Only separate funding for these selected schemes. Exclude your salary sacrifice already entered above. Include a confirmed credit paid directly into a pension here, not as a cash tax saving.

A deductible amount is not the same as tax saved. Do not subtract a saving already reflected in your entered personal payment.

Used only when actual cash tax savings are confirmed. Exclude tax relief credited into the fund, deductible contribution totals and employer tax savings.

4. Budget comparison

Divide the total cost over 1–12 months for planning. This does not create an instalment plan or change the due date.

Financial inputs stay in this browser tab. We do not send or save them, or include them in analytics or share links. A shared page link can include only the country you selected.

Choose a country

Your cost, made clear.

No personal result yet. Choose your country, complete the checks and compare costs.

How to read the comparison
Your gross commitment
Everything you personally pay, including any gross pay you give up for the contribution.
Your net cost
Gross commitment less a confirmed cash tax saving. It is not shown when the saving is unknown.
Funding from others
Employer payments and credits paid into a fund are separate. They do not reduce the personal cost above.
Monthly planning equivalent
Total cost divided by your chosen months. It is not a payment schedule or an instalment offer.

How this cost comparison works

Your required payments + voluntary payments + approved back payments= Your gross commitment

Gross commitment − confirmed cash tax saving= Your net cost

Net cost is shown only when a cash tax saving is confirmed. If tax treatment is unknown, only gross cost is shown. Excluding tax relief is a scenario choice, not a finding that no relief exists.

Employer or government funding is displayed separately. It does not reduce your personal cost. A deduction base is not a cash saving, and tax relief paid into a pension is not a personal refund. Contributions tax, fees, investment returns and the value of future benefits are outside this comparison.

Worked example with invented amounts

In any currency, suppose you pay 2,400 required contributions, 600 voluntary contributions and an accepted 1,200 back payment. Your total commitment is 4,200. A separately confirmed 300 cash tax saving would make the cost 3,900. Over 12 budget months, that is 350 before or 325 after the saving. Separate employer funding of 1,000 raises combined payments to 5,200; your cost stays 3,900. These example amounts are not legal rates, an official quote or a recommended payment.

Budget months do not change a deadline

The monthly amount is a planning equivalent. A back payment can be due in one instalment, and tax relief can arrive later. Use a single currency and the same selected payment period. Check for credits, waivers and corrections before treating an amount as payable.

Why one calculator for 37 countries

Country differences sit in what counts as a required payment, which back payments are accepted, which voluntary options exist and how tax relief is given. Those differences are explained in each guide with official sources. Once you hold confirmed amounts, the comparison is the same addition and subtraction everywhere, so the site publishes it once. Amounts are not converted between currencies, and the calculator never derives a statutory bill from salary.

Specialist tools that go further

Financial inputs stay in your browser. No identity documents or government-account access are needed. Calculation methodology · Report a correction with an official source.

Country rules and official sources

Each guide explains that country’s required payments, record corrections and approved back payments, voluntary options and tax treatment, with paragraph-level official sources. Open the calculator from a guide to preselect the country.

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Allow Google Analytics to measure visits and calculator actions? Your financial inputs and results are never sent. You can change your choice at any time.

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