In the UK it is before income tax or national insurance (public healthcare), and also before pension saving. However most jobs give you an additional bit of pension on top of your salary (usually 5%).
Pension at 5% or more is only the norm for ‘professional’ jobs.
For many people they only started getting employer pension contributions with auto-enrolment which is 3% of qualifying earnings, not your whole salary. In 2013 only 49% of workers were participating in a workplace pension scheme but it’s over 80% now.
