NHS pension for a Band 9 Very Senior Manager — the highest AfC band — and the highest pension stakes.

Band 9 is the ceiling of the Agenda for Change framework, occupied by a small number of very senior managers — typically deputy chief executives, directors of strategy, and a handful of senior clinical leaders who have not moved onto VSM contracts. At £113,000, adjusted income is very likely to exceed the £260,000 threshold for annual allowance tapering once pension benefit growth is included, which can reduce the annual allowance to as low as £10,000. This makes proactive tax planning essential rather than optional. The pension itself, however, remains exceptionally valuable. Even accounting for Scheme Pays deductions, the defined benefit promise — guaranteed income for life, inflation-linked, with survivor benefits — is something no private sector worker at this salary could replicate without saving a very large proportion of their income into a SIPP. Band 9 staff should review their annual allowance position every year and consider using carry-forward from the three preceding years to smooth out spikes.