AVC Scheme

[crusher]

I received my AVC statement this morning and I couldn't believe it when I saw that Royal Mail's contribution to the scheme has more than halved!!! I contribute £2.88 each week and Royal Mail used to match it. Royal Mail's contribution has now dropped to £1.10 from £2.88.

So even your AVC'S are getting hit now along with your pension!!!

[RobertT]

The amount RM pays into your Bonusplan AVC goes down as your salary goes up.
On my statement it says that RM pay £2.23 p/w, so unless your basic pay is about £25k then they've made a mistake.

[crusher]

My basic pay is now Professional driver grade (MGV) which I believe is now £21,500 pa. Royal Mail's contributions last year were £2.79 on my statement from 2009, but yet this year it's dropped to £1.10.

Seems a bit drastic to me, will have to give helpline a call.

[Brainache]

I would like to stick as much as possible into AVC`s so I can jump ship at 55-60 (I`m 48 now ) is it worth it ? compared to a seperate
personel pension.

[crusher]

Well it used to be! I'm going to have to get some advice on mine. I started at sixteen at RM so didn't start with my pension until my eighteenth birthday, not long after that I took out my AVC. Mine certainley doesn't look as good as it used to be with RM'S contributions going down by more than half.

There used to be several companies offering an AVC through RM, I'm not sure if this correct now, mine is with Aviva after starting out with Equitable Life who went bang a few years ago!

If your interested I would speak with pensions helpline and see what's on offer.

[RobertT]

I would like to stick as much as possible into AVC`s so I can jump ship at 55-60 (I`m 48 now )is it worth it ? compared to a seperate personel pension.

There's more to retirement planning than pensions!
A lot of IFA's will say a mixture of pensions & ISA's is best and I go along with that aswell. I want to pack in work around 55-60 aswell (at least semi-retire), but I see my pension/AVC's as providing an income from 60 onwards as taking them before 60 probably isn't cost effective. And my ISA's are to provide income before that.

[RobertT]

Well it used to be! I'm going to have to get some advice on mine. I started at sixteen at RM so didn't start with my pension until my eighteenth birthday, not long after that I took out my AVC. Mine certainley doesn't look as good as it used to be with RM'S contributions going down by more than half.

TBH if your only paying into Bonusplan (I assume that by your previous post) you're never going to amass a huge amount of extra pension. I have guestimated that if I carry on working for RM until 60 then my Bonusplan pot will only be worth £20k maximum! Or to put it another way £20-25 p/w pension!

There used to be several companies offering an AVC through RM, I'm not sure if this correct now, mine is with Aviva after starting out with Equitable Life who went bang a few years ago!

Didn't you get your letter a couple of weeks ago saying that the current providers are getting ditched in favour of Zurich?

[crusher]

Well it used to be! I'm going to have to get some advice on mine. I started at sixteen at RM so didn't start with my pension until my eighteenth birthday, not long after that I took out my AVC. Mine certainley doesn't look as good as it used to be with RM'S contributions going down by more than half.

TBH if your only paying into Bonusplan (I assume that by your previous post) you're never going to amass a huge amount of extra pension. I have guestimated that if I carry on working for RM until 60 then my Bonusplan pot will only be worth £20k maximum! Or to put it another way £20-25 p/w pension!

There used to be several companies offering an AVC through RM, I'm not sure if this correct now, mine is with Aviva after starting out with Equitable Life who went bang a few years ago!

Didn't you get your letter a couple of weeks ago saying that the current providers are getting ditched in favour of Zurich?

I haven't received anything from them regarding Zurich. I didn't intend it to really improve my pension but thought it a no brainer to have RM match my contribution without missing £2.88 a week. Am I right in thinking that you cannot pull the fund? I suspect you can only cease contributions and freeze the pot until I'm 60?

[POSTMAN]

I've got a load of them savings things with the CWFS,a few mature when i'm 60.
Comes out of my wages each week and i don't miss them.

I also have a some avc's and tbh i don't understand what and why i'm doing them.

Then there is that equitable mess,i do think i need to buck my ideas up and sort them out.

[crusher]

It cost us all big time when Equitable went bang, some lost more than others depending on length of contribution. IIRC I didn't loose owt but I didn't gain either for the years I was with them.

[RobertT]

I haven't received anything from them regarding Zurich.

They are taking over from Aviva, etc and we will have online access to see what our fund is worth instead of waiting months for a paper copy! It's going to happen at the end of the year.

I didn't intend it to really improve my pension but thought it a no brainer to have RM match my contribution without missing £2.88 a week.

Personally I would say Bonusplan is more to provide a lump sum so you don't have to take it from your main RM scheme, which would reduce your index linked pension.

Am I right in thinking that you cannot pull the fund? I suspect you can only cease contributions and freeze the pot until I'm 60?

You have to carry on paying into Bonusplan as long as you're an employee of RM!

[crusher]

I haven't received anything from them regarding Zurich.

They are taking over from Aviva, etc and we will have online access to see what our fund is worth instead of waiting months for a paper copy! It's going to happen at the end of the year.

I didn't intend it to really improve my pension but thought it a no brainer to have RM match my contribution without missing £2.88 a week.

Personally I would say Bonusplan is more to provide a lump sum so you don't have to take it from your main RM scheme, which would reduce your index linked pension.

Am I right in thinking that you cannot pull the fund? I suspect you can only cease contributions and freeze the pot until I'm 60?

You have to carry on paying into Bonusplan as long as you're an employee of RM!

Thanks for your replies, you are more clued up than me on the subject!!

[fishtank]

I haven't received anything from them regarding Zurich. I didn't intend it to really improve my pension but thought it a no brainer to have RM match my contribution without missing £2.88 a week. Am I right in thinking that you cannot pull the fund? I suspect you can only cease contributions and freeze the pot until I'm 60?

The Zurich letter...

AVC Letter Final.pdf

AVC Q&A....

Q&A Final 29.06.10.pdf

AVC Guide...

AVC Guide Final.pdf

[crusher]

Cheers

[wakkono]

Can you pay more than £2.88 a week or is that the max?