Same pay, different pocket · UK study
Same £40,000 salary, three uniforms: the soldier keeps £2,700 more than the police officer.
On an identical £40,000, a soldier, a teacher and a police officer all take home different amounts — purely because their pension contribution rates differ. We ran the same salary through all three.
Take a flat £40,000 salary and give it to a soldier, a teacher and a police officer. They don't take home the same amount — not because of tax, which is identical, but because their pension contribution rates differ. The armed forces pay just 4.5%; police pay nearly 14% at this salary. The result is a £2,702 gap in take-home on identical pay.
The same £40,000, three different take-homes
| Profession | Pension rate | Annual take-home |
|---|---|---|
| Armed forces | 4.5% | £31,024 |
| Teacher | 8.6% | £29,843 |
| Police officer | 13.9% | £28,322 |
There's a crucial catch, though: a lower contribution isn't a better deal. The police officer's higher contribution buys a more generous pension — they're deferring more pay, not losing it. This is why comparing public-sector jobs on take-home alone is misleading; the pension is part of the salary. See the full comparison.
All figures computed from published HMRC tax rules for the 2026/27 tax year, using the same engine behind our calculators, and verified 12 August 2026. Reproducible and free to cite — contact us for the underlying data.