Can I contribute more to my workplace pension?

You can contribute much more than the standard 5% if you'd like to boost your retirement savings. Any contributions above the minimum 5% are called Additional Voluntary Contributions (AVCs), and they're one of the most tax-efficient ways to save for your future.

How AVCs work differently

While your standard pension contributions are calculated on "qualifying earnings" (between £120-£967 per week), AVCs are applied to your entire gross taxable salary. This means:

• No upper limit on the salary amount AVCs can be taken from
• Same tax relief as your standard contributions
• More flexibility to save larger amounts
• You're in complete control of how much extra you contribute
  
  

How much can you contribute?

The maximum you can contribute to all your pensions combined is £60,000 per year before facing tax charges. This includes:

• Your standard 5% contributions
• Nasa's 3% contributions
• Any AVCs you make
• Contributions to any other pensions you have 

You can find out more about Annual Allowance here.

💡Important: Nasa doesn't match AVCs. Whilst your extra contributions benefit from the same tax relief, Nasa's contribution stays at 3% regardless of how much extra you contribute. Our employer contributions are based only on the standard auto-enrolment rates.

How to set up AVCs

Through your now:u account

1. Log in to your now:u account 
2. Navigate to Change your payments in -> Pay in more
3. Choose an extra amount to pay each time you get paid. This must be a percentage of your salary as a whole number – for example, 2%. If you want to reduce your payments in, reduce or remove the extra amount you pay. 
4. Confirm your changes
5. Nasa will be notified the next working day and apply changes to your next payslip

Through our Payroll Team

• Email: payroll@nasagroup.co.uk
• Tell us: How much extra you want to contribute (as a percentage or fixed amount)
• We'll set it up and changes will apply from your next payslip

Managing Your AVCs

You can change them Anytime

• Increase when you get a pay rise or bonus
• Decrease if you need more take-home pay temporarily
• Stop completely if circumstances change
• Restart whenever you're ready

They show on your payslip

• Standard contributions and AVCs are shown separately
• Income Tax relief is applied to both
• Easy to track how much you're saving

Need Help?

Contact our Payroll team at payroll@nasagroup.co.uk if you need assistance setting up AVCs or want to receive pay projections before deciding on your contribution levels.

Remember: AVCs are flexible - you can start, stop, increase, or decrease them whenever your circumstances change. They're a powerful tool for taking control of your retirement planning while benefiting from excellent tax relief!