Contributing to the Scheme

What do I pay? 

Does the Council Contribute? 

Can I pay more to increase my benefits?



What do I pay?

Your contribution rate depends on how much you are paid but it will be between 5.5% and 7.5% of your pensionable allowances. Only Basic and Special Responsibility Allowances are specified in the regulations as pensionable.

Table 1 shows the pay bands that applied from 1 April 2011. Table 2 shows the updated price bands for 1 April 2012.

Table 1: Pay bands 1 April 2011 - 31 March 2012

If your Whole-Time Pay Rate is:

You pay a contribution rate of:

Up to £12,900

5.5%

£12,901 to £15,100

5.8%

£15,101 to £19,400

5.9%

£19,401 to £32,400

6.5%

£32,401 to £43,300

6.8%

£43,301 to £81,100

7.2%

More than £81,100

7.5%


Table 2: Pay bands from 1 April 2012

If your Whole-Time Pay Rate is:

You pay a contribution rate of:

Up to £13,500

5.5%

£13,501 to £15,800

5.8%

£15,801 to £20,400

5.9%

£20,401 to £34,000

6.5%

£34,001 to £45,500

6.8%

£45,501 to £85,300

7.2%

More than £85,300

7.5%


As a member of the Scheme, your contributions will attract tax relief at the time they are deducted from your pay and you will be contracted out of the State Second Pension Scheme (S2P). Whilst you are a member of the Scheme you will, prior to State Pension Age, pay reduced National Insurance contributions.

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Does the Council contribute?

Your Council pays the balance of the cost of providing your benefits in the Scheme.

Every three years an independent review is undertaken to calculate how much the Council should contribute to the Scheme. The Government is considering how future increases or decreases in scheme costs can be shared between members and employers. 

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Can I pay more to increase my benefits?

You can pay extra to increase your retirement benefits. You can do this either by paying additional contributions (known as ARCs) to buy extra scheme pension, by making payments to the scheme’s Additional Voluntary Contributions (AVC) arrangement, or by making payments to a personal pension, stakeholder pension or Free-standing AVC scheme of your own choice. Click here for more information on increasing your retirement benefits.

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