Added Pension

Added pension is an amount of extra annual pension that you can buy; it will be paid with your classic, classic plus, nuvos or premium pension when you retire.

You can buy added pension if you are an active member of classic, classic plus, nuvos or premium. The start date for added pension depends on which scheme you are a member of, and your age:

You cannot buy added pension after you have left the scheme or started to draw your classic, classic plus, nuvos or premium pension, or while you are on unpaid leave. There is no age limit.

Yes. You cannot buy more than £5,000 of added pension in total. This limit will go up each year in line with inflation; you can contact us for the current limit. Note also that the tax rules mean that you cannot use a lump sum from another pension arrangement to buy added pension.

You can choose to buy added pension either just for yourself, or for yourself and your dependants. You can find out who can receive a dependant's pension in the partners section. You cannot choose to buy added pension only for your dependants.

The cost of added pension will depend on your age and gets more expensive as you get older. The cost will be reviewed in future, generally every three or four years, and may go up. You can find out the cost of buying added pension by clicking on the following link, this will take you to our calculators page.

Do I get tax relief on my contributions?

Yes, provided that your contributions do not exceed the limits set by HM Revenue and Customs. In general, you can get tax relief on pension contributions of up to 100% of your taxable earnings, or £3,600 if you earn less than that. Tax relief is normally provided through the payroll, so you don't need to claim it back from the taxman.

What do I get for my money?

You will get a set amount added to your classic, classic plus, nuvos or premium pension that will increase each year in line with the Retail Price Index (RPI) each April. If you are a member of classic buying added pension then this will also include a lump sum equivalent to three times the added pension you buy. For example, if you buy £1,000 of added pension, then your lump sum for this amount of added pension will be £3,000.

How much you get will not depend on investment returns, so it is less risky than other ways of increasing your pension. When you draw your civil service pension your added pension will be combined with it. The age retirement section tells you more about the choices you can make when you draw your pension and the other benefits it provides: these will apply also to your added pension.

You can choose to pay by regular deduction from your salary, or by lump sum. If you choose to pay by regular deduction, you can either choose a set amount (e.g. £20 each month) or a set percentage of your salary (e.g. 5% each month).

You should note that if you decide to pay a set amount, it will buy a smaller amount of added pension in future years because the rates are age based. If you want to go on buying the same amount of pension each year, you will need to increase your contribution amount each year.

If you pay a percentage of your salary this will increase the amount paid each year as your pay increases, but it may still not buy the same amount of pension.

If you choose to pay by regular deduction from salary, you must do so for the full scheme year, starting on 1 April, except in the year you start work and the year you leave. You can choose to make an open-ended commitment to go on contributing every month, until you leave or choose to cancel it.

Alternatively, you may pay by lump sum, but not in the first 12 months after joining. You can make one lump sum payment each year.

Your annual benefit statement will show how much pension you have bought each year, and the current value of any added pension bought in previous years.

How do I apply?

You can contact the Member Administration Section. You will find their number in our contact us section. We will tell you what you need to do to buy added pension. You can pay by lump sum at any time of the year after your first 12 months. If you want to start paying by monthly deductions from your pay, you should apply in time to start payments at the start of the scheme year (1 April).

For more information see the leaflet:

As added pension is introduced to the other pension arrangements, the leaflets for each of them will become available. You can also contact us if you have any queries.