Increasing Your Retirement Benefits
Contents:
Additional Voluntary Contributions (AVC)
- You can only buy additional pension while you are in pensionable employment.
- You can buy an additional pension up to a maximum pension of £5,500 per annum. You can do this at different times in multiples of £250.
- You can pay by a lump sum or a regular monthly payment.
- Any instalment period must be completed before you reach NPA.
- Instalment payments will be subject to periodic review and may change during the period of the instalments.
- You have the option to buy personal benefits only or personal benefits and partners’ benefits.
- It is not possible to buy partners’ benefits only.
- If you leave pensionable employment before completing an instalment plan, you will have the opportunity to pay the balance in a lump sum or take a paid up credit.
- If you retire before completing an instalment plan you will receive a pension based on the contributions you have paid.
- If you retire on health grounds before completing an instalment plan, you will receive the full value of your additional pension provided that TPB received a valid health declaration at the start of the payment period and the payments have been made for more than 12 months.
- Additional pension benefits are index-linked from the date of the first contribution.
- Additional pension benefits are affected by any re-employment abatement.
- If you have arranged to purchase additional pension for your partner, then a pension will be paid to your surviving partner on your death.
- If you die and have only arranged to purchase additional pension for personal benefits no additional death benefits will be paid.
Additional Voluntary Contributions (AVC)
- To increase your own benefits or family benefits you can pay Additional Voluntary Contributions (AVCs).
- The money you pay is invested for you by the AVC Company and the benefits you receive depend on the value of the investment and the cost of annuities when you retire.
- You can take 25% of the fund value as a tax-free lump sum.
- AVCs do not increase the benefits you receive from the NITPS. They are a separate arrangement.
- Prudential is the AVC provider for members of the NITPS, but you can choose to make arrangements with any other provider.
- Members of the NITPS may contribute to any other pension arrangement as well as contributing to the NITPS.
- You may wish to consult your financial advisor about other arrangements.
- If you have pensionable employment in another scheme, it may be possible to transfer it into the NITPS.
- You must apply within one year of entering pensionable teaching.
- Your previous scheme will offer an amount of money called a transfer value, which you can use to buy service in the NITPS.
- The service may be different to the actual length of your service in the previous scheme.
For further information see the Transfers In leaflet.
- If you received a repayment of your contributions before 1 June 1973 and are currently in pensionable service, you can repay those contributions and restore that service in the NITPS.
- You will have to pay compound interest at 3.5% per annum as well as repaying the original contributions.
