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The AVCs you pay will be invested by the Trustees on your behalf, in your name and in an
investment fund chosen by you from those available, and used to provide extra benefits on
your retirement. Your AVCs will receive the same immediate tax relief as your regular
contributions to the Scheme.
Your AVC benefits are not calculated on the basis of your Pensionable Pay. Instead, the
benefits provided will be of equal value to your accumulated AVC funds. You can choose to
increase your own pension, or provide extra pension for your dependants, or both.
Subject to the restrictions described in Section 16 of this booklet, you can take your AVC
fund as a tax-free lump sum. This would then form part of your Pension Commencement
Lump Sum at retirement.
Instead of paying AVCs to the Scheme you can make additional pension provision for
yourself via a personal pension. You should note, however, that the charges made by an
insurance company to administer a personal pension will be subject to the terms of the
contract you have with them. No charges are made for administering AVCs under the
Scheme.
You should note that the tax-free limits mentioned above may restrict the amount of AVCs
that you pay. These limits are set out in Section 16. If your AVCs mean that you are likely to
exceed these limits you will be warned by the Trustees. Any excess AVCs may be refunded
to you without interest.
If you would like more details about paying AVCs then please contact the Scheme
Administrator.
GFTU contributions
The contributions that you pay represent only a portion of the cost of your pension benefits;
the GFTU pays the balance of the cost of providing all members' benefits in the Scheme. The
level of contributions paid by the GFTU is determined by the Trustees after seeking the
advice of the Scheme Actuary.