What is take-home for a Civil Service AO?

On the £28,020 median with the 4.6% alpha contribution, take-home is about £22,663 a year or £1,889 a month, after £1,289 pension, £2,832 Income Tax and £1,236 National Insurance. At the £31,990 top of the departmental range it is about £25,375.

Does AO pay vary between departments?

Substantially. Departments set their own pay within the government pay remit, and the published AA/AO medians range from £25,500 to £31,990. The figures are as at 31 March 2026, which is the latest departmental breakdown Cabinet Office publishes, so they sit behind the current pay round.

What does the alpha pension actually give you?

alpha accrues 2.32% of each year of pensionable earnings as a guaranteed inflation-linked pension from State Pension age. On £28,020 that is about £650 of indexed annual pension earned for every year worked, for a 4.6% contribution.

Civil Service AO Salary 2026/27: What You Take Home

Administrative Officer is the grade above Administrative Assistant. Cabinet Office publishes the two as one combined band: the median across the whole Civil Service was £28,020 as at 31 March 2026, the most recent departmental breakdown available, ranging from £25,500 to £31,990 depending on the department. Take-home below is calculated on 2026/27 tax rates.

Typical pay & take-home

Civil Service combined AA/AO median, 31 March 2026: £28,020
Lowest to highest departmental AA/AO median, 31 March 2026: £25,500–£31,990
Take-home on that salary: £22,663 England, after the 4.6% alpha pension contribution, Income Tax and NI.

At £28,020, you earn 28% below the UK full-time median (£39,039), placing you between the 10th percentile (£23,990) and the 25th percentile (£29,262) of UK full-time earnings.

See exact take-home for £28,020 →

Published medians for each grade, the Senior Civil Service ranges, and how far the nine departments covered here sit either side: Civil Service pay 2026/27, every grade and department →

What influences civil service administrative officer (ao) pay

Pay is delegated to each department, so the same grade pays differently across the Civil Service. On the published figures the AA/AO median ran from £25,500 (UK Statistics Authority) to £31,990 (Ministry of Justice), a spread of £6,490 for nominally the same grade.

AO sits entirely inside the 20% basic-rate band. Even at the £31,990 top of the departmental range the 4.6% contribution leaves £30,518 of taxable pay, £19,752 below the £50,270 higher-rate threshold. After the £12,570 personal allowance every pound of taxable pay is taxed at 20% Income Tax, and National Insurance is 8% on the full gross, so with Income Tax relief on the 4.6% contribution the marginal rate on a pound of pay is 27.1%.

The alpha contribution is 4.6% on pensionable earnings up to £36,199 in 2026/27, which covers the whole of this grade. alpha is a Career Average Revalued Earnings scheme accruing 2.32% of each year of pensionable earnings, and it is a net pay arrangement, so contributions get full Income Tax relief but no NI relief.

AA / AO median pay by department

Civil Service pay is delegated, so the same grade pays differently across departments. These are published medians for the AA / AO responsibility level, as at 31 March 2026 - the most recent departmental breakdown Cabinet Office publishes. They pre-date the 2026/27 pay remit, so treat them as relative positioning between employers rather than current salary.

Department	AA / AO median	All grades
Ministry of Justice	£31,990	£35,530
Ministry of Defence	£29,030	£39,120
HM Treasury	£28,090	£60,670
HMRC	£28,020	£37,680
DWP	£27,840	£32,140
Home Office	£27,550	£39,000
Cabinet Office	£27,410	£47,670
Dept for Education	£27,240	£49,000
Dept for Transport	£26,610	£31,600

The source publishes AA / AO as one combined band, so a median for either grade on its own is not available.

Source: Cabinet Office - Civil Service Statistics 2026, Table 25 . Annual awards since the snapshot are set per department under the Civil Service Pay Remit Guidance 2026/27 .

Career progression

AA / AO: £28,020 median.
EO: £32,140.
SEO / HEO: £43,930 - Cabinet Office publishes these two grades combined.
Grade 6 / Grade 7: £65,830, also published combined.
Senior Civil Service: £95,540.

Frequently asked questions

What is take-home for a Civil Service AO?: On the £28,020 median with the 4.6% alpha contribution, take-home is about £22,663 a year or £1,889 a month, after £1,289 pension, £2,832 Income Tax and £1,236 National Insurance. At the £31,990 top of the departmental range it is about £25,375.
Does AO pay vary between departments?: Substantially. Departments set their own pay within the government pay remit, and the published AA/AO medians range from £25,500 to £31,990. The figures are as at 31 March 2026, which is the latest departmental breakdown Cabinet Office publishes, so they sit behind the current pay round.
What does the alpha pension actually give you?: alpha accrues 2.32% of each year of pensionable earnings as a guaranteed inflation-linked pension from State Pension age. On £28,020 that is about £650 of indexed annual pension earned for every year worked, for a 4.6% contribution.

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Sources

Cabinet Office - Civil Service Statistics 2026, Table 25
Civil Service Pension Scheme - member contribution rates 2026/27
ONS - ASHE 2025 Table 14.7a, annual pay by SOC 2020 occupation (occupational pay)
ONS — Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings 2025 (UK full-time median and percentiles)
HMRC — Rates and thresholds 2026/27
Our full methodology & calculation sources →