Can my company pay into my pension?

Yes. A limited company can pay into a director's pension and deduct it as a business expense. No National Insurance is due on it, nothing is taxed on you, and the limit on your own earnings does not apply to it.

What the company gets

What limits it

The annual allowance
£60,000 for most people in 2026/27, counting employer and personal contributions together, with unused allowance from the three previous tax years often available to carry forward.
The taper, on higher incomes
Threshold income over £200,000 and adjusted income over £260,000 reduces the allowance by £1 for every £2 above, to a floor of £10,000. Employer contributions count toward adjusted income.
The money purchase annual allowance
£10,000, once you have flexibly accessed a pension, with no carry forward available on top.
The wholly and exclusively test
HMRC looks at the whole package. A contribution for a director is allowable unless there is a non-trade purpose, and the comparison is with what an unconnected employee doing similar work would get.

A dividend is paid out of profit that has already borne corporation tax, and is then taxed again in your hands. A pension contribution is neither.

Related questions

Does it have to come out of profit?

No. A pension contribution is an expense, so it can create or increase a loss. Whether that is sensible is a separate question for your accountant.

Can I carry forward if I have only just started the company?

Carry forward needs you to have been a member of a registered pension scheme in each earlier year you want to use. It does not require earnings in those years, and it does not require the company to have existed.

Is there a limit on a single large contribution?

Not for pension purposes beyond the allowances. For corporation tax, where a contribution exceeds 110% of the previous period's by £500,000 or more, the relief is spread across future periods.

What if I take a salary of only £12,570?

Your own contributions would be capped near that figure. The company's are not, which is why the route matters for directors who pay themselves mostly in dividends.

Where this fits

The figure depends on your allowance, the taper and what you have carried forward. Settle it well before your year end.

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The advisers for this subject

Sunny Bharj

Sunny Bharj

Independent Financial Adviser

Tony Springer

Tony Springer

Independent Financial Adviser

Advising through Equity & General Financial Services Limited, which is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. Check the firm on the FCA register under number 474163.

Talk to an adviser

A first conversation of about twenty minutes, at no cost to you. Tell us what is on your mind: a pension you have lost track of, a fixed rate ending, a will you keep meaning to write.