Increase my pension
You can pay more to top up your pension.
There are two ways you can currently increase your pension from the Scheme:
- Buying extra pension
- Paying Additional Voluntary Contribution (AVCs)
Don't forget you get tax relief on extra contributions which lowers their real cost to you. Find out more about tax relief.
There are limits on the amount of extra contributions you can pay. To find out more please contact us.
Buying extra pension
You can buy more pension, right up to a maximum of £8,344 (2024/25 rates).
The extra pension you buy will be paid the same way as your retirement pension.
How much does it cost?
The cost to you will depend on a number of factors.
Below are some general examples.
You can additionally use the online calculator developed by the Local Government Association (LGA) to get an idea of how much the purchase of additional pension might cost you. Access LGA Calculator.
Your pension fund administering authority may require a satisfactory medical report to be submitted, at your cost, before your application is accepted. Where this is the case you will be notified of the process to be followed after submitting your application to pay APCs.
Example 1
Kyle is 25 and wants to buy £1,000 additional yearly pension for himself.
He wants to pay the additional contributions he would have to make over 20 years.
The cost of buying £1,000 of additional yearly pension is £51.70 each month for the next 20 years (£12,408 in total).
Example 2
Marion is aged 47 and wants to buy £750 additional yearly pension for herself.
She wants to pay for this over 10 years.
The cost of buying £750 of additional yearly pension would be £103.43 each month for the next 10 years (£12,411 in total).
Pay Additional Voluntary Contributions (AVCs)
You can pay more contributions to our AVC schemes (sometimes called "in house" AVC schemes).
You choose how much to pay in AVCs and how they are invested. The money will come straight out of your pay and go to the AVC provider who will invest it for you.
What happens when I retire?
There are several options available to you when you retire which include buying a regular income for life or taking a tax-free lump sum. For a full list of options please refer to the ' Guide to additional voluntary contributions (AVCs) in the Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS)'
If you are interested in paying AVCs please contact us for further information about our AVC providers. Alternatively, you can visit this page on the LGPS member website which details how “you can pay extra now to boost your income in later life”.
Please note
Under previous regulations there have been different ways to buy extra membership or pension. You may have one of these arrangements in place and this will be honoured. These previous options have now been closed and we can't accept any new applications.