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TPT Retirement Solutions
FAQs

I am interested in paying Additional Voluntary Contributions (AVCs) - what do I do?

CATEGORIES:

  • Members
  • General

Additional Voluntary Contributions (AVCs) are extra pension contributions you can make to boost your pension savings. You may choose to pay AVCs to because:

  • you want your pension to start before your scheme’s Normal Pension Age.
  • you want to increase the pension payable at your Normal Pension Age (or earlier if you decide).
  • full tax relief is given on AVCs.

You should always consider the needs and the savings options that are best suited to your circumstances.

You might want to discuss the options with a financial adviser as we are unable to offer you financial advice.

Your employer can let you know if they have set up an AVC arrangement for you to pay into and which scheme this is.

Your AVCs could be paid into one of the following TPT Retirement Solutions' Defined Contribution (DC) funds:

If you would like more information on the funds, please go to our fund information.

How to pay Additional Voluntary Contributions (AVCs)

You can start to pay AVCs by filling in an AVC Application Form for the scheme you want to pay contributions into and handing it to your payroll department. Your employer will then complete the employer sections of the form and pass it to us so that we can update your record. You will receive confirmation from us once your form has been processed.  

AVCs which are paid monthly to TPT Retirement Solutions will be deducted from your salary in the same way as your ‘normal’ monthly pension contributions. If you prefer, you can pay your AVCs as a lump sum instead of regular monthly payments. Lump sum payments must be made through your employer's payroll so you will need to let your HR or payroll officer know in plenty of time. We are not able to accept personal cheques.

Making changes to AVCs

To make changes to the amount of AVCs you pay, or to stop paying them, you just need to let your payroll team know. They will change your monthly contributions and also tell us about the change.

Amounts you can pay as Additional Voluntary Contributions (AVCs)

You can pay up to 100% of your taxable pay/benefits in any tax year (6 April – 5 April) as pension contributions. For example, if your normal monthly contribution is 6%, you will have the choice to pay a further 94% of your earnings as tax free AVCs.

These contributions will be tax free as long as the total increase in your benefits in any one tax year does not exceed the Annual Allowance. This limit includes your ‘normal’ monthly Scheme contributions plus any AVCs that you pay to the Scheme plus any Free Standing AVCs (FSAVCs) or contributions to other pension arrangements.