As a member of the Plan you pay a fixed percentage of your pensionable pay each month which builds up over time until your retirement. Tax relief (up to HMRC limits) on your contributions means that this actually costs less than the amount you invest. For instance, currently an investment of £100 may mean a reduction of only £68 in your take home pay each month if you are a basic rate taxpayer and £58 if you pay tax at 40%. These amounts also reflect the National Insurance savings available through SMART which apply automatically if you are eligible and don’t opt out of SMART.

The Company will also make a contribution to your savings while you are paying into the Plan. The amount depends on the level of your contributions each month, but will normally be at least twice the amount you pay.

The money you and the Company save towards your retirement is then invested according to the investment option(s) you choose. To find out more about your investment option visit the investment section.

Your savings should then grow until your retirement. Once you are a member you can access your records using our secure website to monitor the progress of your retirement savings at any time and change your investment and contribution choices online. Click here to login to the secure website. 

When you come to retire you can choose to take your retirement savings as:-

• a single cash sum of up to 100% of your savings (25% being tax-free and the remaining 75% being taxable, some or all of which might be at the higher tax rates) or smaller, multiple cash sums (where 25% of each cash sum is tax-free with the remainder being taxed). This option is known as uncrystallised funds pension lump sum(s) or 'UFPLS';
• a regular taxable income for the rest of your life from an insurance company, with the option of taking 25% of your savings as tax-free cash at retirement. This option is known as an 'annuity'; or
• small taxable cash sums from your savings as and when required, with the option of taking up to 25% of your savings as tax-free cash at retirement. This option is known as 'flexi-access drawdown' or 'drawdown'; or
• a combination of all three options.

For further information, visit our June 2015 news item on the new DC flexibilities.  

Pensionable pay
Pensionable pay is your basic annual earnings plus any holiday pay, if you joined the Plan on or after 1 April 2011.
If you joined the Plan before 1 April 2011 pensionable pay is your gross annual earnings, excluding certain items as specified by the Company and notified to the Trustee and members. Current exclusions are:

• annual, monthly, weekly, ad-hoc and exceptional bonuses;
• quarterly bonus (except for Experian DQ - formerly QAS);
• car allowance and related payments;

If you joined the Plan before 1 April 2011, but subsequently choose to switch to a minimum contribution rate of 3%, then your pensionable pay in respect of all contributions after the date of the switch will be your basic annual earnings plus any holiday pay received.

Charges
There is an administration charge for all members of £24 a year. This is deducted on a monthly basis from the contributions you pay, ie £2.00 a month. For former employees this is deducted once a year from your retirement savings. All members also pay investment management charges which depend on which fund(s) you are invested in. The investment guide provides more details of the current charges and what they mean.