Pension Not Where You Want It – The Additional Voluntary Contribution Can Help You

Trying to figure your pension out can really give you a headache. We’re trying to be the aspiring that your pension induced headache really needs but we can’t do it without your help. So if you find our guides helpful, just let us know in the comments. We really want everyone to start thinking about their pensions and retirement, because nobody is really going to care about this stuff more than you will. It’s your life, after all.

Okay, we’re not trying to lecture this way. On with today’s topic, right? One thing that keeps getting talked about is simple: just what happens when you need to catch up on your pension? If you have more than you need in your pension, well done! You will have all the choices that we see in pension programs overseas. If you are finding that you haven’t saved as much as you would like, you do indeed have options.

One option is the AVC — the additional voluntary contribution scheme. This allows you to naturally put away more money, but is it really something that will benefit you? Absolutely.

You see, if you’re in a workplace pension, you’ll be able to put away 15 percent of your money into a pension scheme. But what if you only put in 10 percent? You can put the extra 5 percent left over into the AVC. You’re going to get a bit of a tax break on the money that you put in, which is always a good thing.

Do keep in mind that AVCs are still based on the marketplace. So if the market goes up, so does your plan. However, if the market goes down, then your money can be reduced dramatically.

Sometimes you might find that you really don’t have a choice in terms of the money that you need to put aside. You might be one of the many Britons out there that have to catch up on your pension, which means that any additional that you can put towards your future life, the better off you will be.

The scheme costs can be high, so you want to make sure that you look into things. And if you have to go with a free standing AVC, you might be in a world of trouble when it comes to those fees. Don’t think that you have to go with something that can honestly hold you back big time. You’re much better off looking through the plans yourself and seeing where your money will grow the best. All of these things require risk, but you just can’t have any reward without a little risk. It’s going to be up to you to really manage the type of risk that you’re willing to get into. Good luck!