How much to save
At a glance
The Plan gives you the flexibility to pay in what you can afford at different times of your life. The older you are, the more you pay into the Plan (and the more the Company pays). If you’re 35 or under you pay 3.25% of your Pensionable Pay, and this goes up by 0.1% by every year you’re over 35 as shown in the table below.
If you pay your contributions via salary sacrifice, the Company will pay an extra contribution into your account.
Your age | Your regular contribution rate (%) | Company regular contribution rate (%) | Extra salary sacrifice contribution (%) | Total (%) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
35 | 3.25 | 4.75 | 0.22 | 8.22 |
36 | 3.35 | 4.9 | 0.23 | 8.48 |
37 | 3.45 | 5.05 | 0.24 | 8.74 |
38 | 3.55 | 5.2 | 0.25 | 9 |
39 | 3.65 | 5.35 | 0.26 | 9.26 |
40 | 3.75 | 5.5 | 0.27 | 9.52 |
41 | 3.85 | 5.65 | 0.28 | 9.78 |
42 | 3.95 | 5.8 | 0.29 | 10.04 |
43 | 4.05 | 5.95 | 0.3 | 10.3 |
44 | 4.15 | 6.1 | 0.31 | 10.56 |
45 | 4.25 | 6.25 | 0.32 | 10.82 |
46 | 4.35 | 6.4 | 0.33 | 11.08 |
47 | 4.45 | 6.55 | 0.34 | 11.34 |
48 | 4.55 | 6.7 | 0.35 | 11.6 |
49 | 4.65 | 6.85 | 0.36 | 11.86 |
50 | 4.75 | 7 | 0.37 | 12.12 |
51 | 4.85 | 7.15 | 0.38 | 12.38 |
52 | 4.95 | 7.3 | 0.39 | 12.64 |
53 | 5.05 | 7.45 | 0.4 | 12.9 |
54 | 5.15 | 7.6 | 0.41 | 13.16 |
55 | 5.25 | 7.75 | 0.42 | 13.42 |
56 | 5.35 | 7.9 | 0.43 | 13.68 |
57 | 5.45 | 8.05 | 0.44 | 13.94 |
58 | 5.55 | 8.2 | 0.45 | 14.2 |
59 | 5.65 | 8.35 | 0.46 | 14.46 |
60 | 5.75 | 8.5 | 0.47 | 14.72 |
61 | 5.85 | 8.65 | 0.48 | 14.98 |
62 | 5.95 | 8.8 | 0.49 | 15.24 |
63 | 6.05 | 8.95 | 0.5 | 15.5 |
64 | 6.15 | 9.1 | 0.51 | 15.76 |
65 | 6.25 | 9.25 | 0.52 | 16.02 |
You can check how much you’re currently paying by logging into the secure area of the website: Member Online
If you can afford to pay more than your regular contributions that can really boost your benefits in retirement – and the great news is that the Company will pay more too. The contributions the Company pays are based on your earnings:
You can contribute | The Company will contribute | |
|---|---|---|
Earnings below £50,270 | Up to 2.25% (in increments of 0.25%) | Up to 2.25% (in increments of 0.25%) |
Earnings above £50,270 | Up to 4% | Up to 4% |
Case study
Maxine earns £60,000 and would like to contribute the maximum matched contribution she can.
Her contribution would be worked out as:
2.25% of £50,270 = £1,131.08
4% of her earnings above £50,270, i.e. £9,730 = £389.20
Maxine’s total additional contribution = £1,520.28 a year (£126.69 a month)
The Company would pay the same, so the additional contribution into her account each month would be £253.38 (on top of her regular contributions)
You can choose to pay 4%, 5% or 6% of your Pensionable Pay, and the Company will match this.
If you can afford to pay more than your regular contributions that can really boost your benefits in retirement – and the great news is that the Company will pay more too. The contributions the Company pays are based on your earnings:
You can contribute | The Company will contribute | |
|---|---|---|
Earnings above £50,270 | Up to 4% | Up to 4% |
Case Study
Elsie earns £60,000 and would like to contribute the maximum matched contribution she can.
Her contribution would be worked out as:
4% of her earnings above £50,270, i.e. £9,730 = £389.20 (£32.43 a month)
The Company would pay the same, so the additional contribution into her account each month would be £64.87 (on top of her regular contributions)
These are extra contributions you can pay to boost your benefits, but the Company won’t match them.
Your Pensionable Pay is the pay on which you pay your pension contributions. It’s your basic pay plus the pensionable element of any shift allowance or other pay from the Company.
With salary sacrifice, instead of you paying contributions to the Plan, your salary is reduced by the amount you would otherwise pay in contributions. This means that you pay less tax and National Insurance (NI) than you usually would. The Company pays your pension contributions on your behalf, as well as its own contributions. As well as saving you money on tax and NI, salary sacrifice also saves the Company money so it shares this benefit with you by paying an extra percentage into your pension account each month, as shown in the table above. Please note that you’ll automatically pay into the Plan via salary sacrifice unless you request otherwise.
You receive tax relief on your pension savings, so they cost less than you might think. If you’re a basic rate taxpayer, every £100 you contribute costs you £80.
There are limits to the amount of tax efficient pension savings you can have. The Annual Allowance specifies how much you and your employer can pay in any one tax year and still receive tax relief. Until 6 April 2023 there was an additional Lifetime Allowance on the total amount of pension savings you could build up over your lifetime without incurring a tax charge. The Lifetime Allowance does not apply to benefits taken on or after 6 April 2023. Find out more about both allowances.