Saving more | Railways Pension Scheme

Making extra payments to boost your pension pot

Saving more into your pension pot (known as your Personal Retirement Account or PRA) while you’re still contributing to the IWDC Section, means you could have more money to live on when you retire. That means more money to spend on the things you enjoy, such as eating out or going on holiday, as well as cash to cover your bills and your other everyday expenses.

Read on to find out how paying extra into your pension pot is easy with Additional Voluntary Contributions (AVCs).

Three pink piggy banks with coins going into the middle one

Should I be saving more?

You can find out how much you’re likely to need to afford the lifestyle you want in retirement using the Retirement Budgeting Calculator.

Once you have a target to aim for use the DC Retirement Modeller tool or request an estimate to see if your pension pot is likely to cover those costs. If not, saving more now could help give you the lifestyle you want in future.

You might also want to consider saving more if you:

have earnings such as overtime or bonuses, if they are not part of your Pensionable Pay. You can find more information about your Pensionable Pay in your Key Features leaflet. This is available when you log in to your myRPS account
are thinking about taking your pension pot early, if you are eligible
can afford to pay more into your Personal Retirement Account (PRA), as it's a tax-efficient way to save
simply want to save more for your retirement

Visit the how much I'll need for retirement page for more information to help you plan for the future.

Saving more with AVCs

You can save more into your PRA by making Additional Voluntary Contributions (AVCs). These are extra payments that are added to your pot on top of the contributions you and your employer pay in.

Here's how it works...

You can either make AVCs regularly, or as one-off payments.
You decide how much you want to pay in with AVCs. You can also decide when to stop or change these payments.
AVCs are taken from your pay before tax, subject to certain limits. That means you get tax relief just like your normal payments to the Scheme.
If you earn extra money, like overtime and bonuses, that are not part of your Pensionable Pay, you can use that money as AVCs and boost your pot further.
Your AVCs are invested in funds, just like your normal payments to the Scheme. You can change these to make them work best for you.

How to start paying AVCs

If you want to apply to pay AVCs, you should speak to your employer. They will start the process for you.

Watch our short videos

You can find a range of short videos in our video library to help you learn more about planning and saving.

You can also find videos that tell you how to use the DC Retirement Modeller and how to request an estimate.

Go to the video library

What to read next...

How much I'll need for retirement

Find out how to check if your pension savings are on track to give you the lifestyle you want when you retire.

How my investments work

See how the funds you choose can affect the way your IWDC pot grows.

Guidance and advice

Where to go for further support on your options.

Disclaimer

Railways Pensions is powered by Railpen Limited
© Railpen Limited 2010-2024. Registered Office: 100 Liverpool Street, London EC2M 2AT
Each of Railpen Limited (registered in England and Wales No. 2315380) and Railway Pension Investments Limited (RPIL) (Registered in England and Wales No. 1491097) is a wholly owned subsidiary of Railways Pension Trustee Company Limited (Registered in England and Wales No. 2934539). Registered office for each company: 100 Liverpool Street, London EC2M 2AT. RPIL is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority for some of its activities. The administration of occupational pension schemes is not a regulated activity. Full details about the extent of RPIL's authorisation and regulation by the Financial Conduct Authority are available from us on request.