Increasing contributions to flexiplan AVC

thewayforward · Post by **thewayforward** » 08 Jun 2019, 16:16

Does anyone know the maximum amount a 38 hour contract OPG can pay direct from weekly wages into flexiplan if they are on a basic week no O/T ? Thankyou

Post by **RobertT** » 08 Jun 2019, 17:45

In theory you can pay all of your wages in and that is mentioned on the RMPP website. But it's advisable to put in as much as it takes to stay within the limits for PSE, which is a nice extra bonus. With any additional savings going into a separate pension arrangement.

To stay within PSE, you're talking in the region of £120 - £130 per week gross.

heapsy · Post by **heapsy** » 09 Jun 2019, 13:17

I pay in to Bonus plan, £2.88 fixed payment. I have recently increased my contribution to Flexi plan by £2 per week. This now stands at £118 per week. Total £120.88, and have remained within PSE limits. There is a little breathing space with this, not sure exactly how much. You cannot include overtime or shift / skill allowances when calculating how much you can pay in. I'm 38 hour contract, hope that helps.

Decky Boy · Post by **Decky Boy** » 22 Jun 2019, 17:04

I wasn't aware of there being a threshold (and because I work a fair bit of overtime) increased my AVCs to 135 per week at the end of April. I also pay into bonus plan ! This amount appears to be just over the authorised amount for PSE though some weeks I appeared to qualify for PSE and other weeks I did not. On my pay slip my AVC payments danced about from one side of my pay slip to the other on a weekly basis. Sometimes itemised as "arrears" or showing as a minus value

I could tell the weeks I qualified for PSE by the low NI contribution taken. I have reduced my payments and am hoping my payslip settles down next week. I always appeared to get the tax break... it was the NI contributions I missed out on !

heapsy · Post by **heapsy** » 23 Jun 2019, 01:34

Decky Boy wrote:I wasn't aware of there being a threshold (and because I work a fair bit of overtime) increased my AVCs to 135 per week at the end of April. I also pay into bonus plan ! This amount appears to be just over the authorised amount for PSE though some weeks I appeared to qualify for PSE and other weeks I did not. On my pay slip my AVC payments danced about from one side of my pay slip to the other on a weekly basis. Sometimes itemised as "arrears" or showing as a minus value

I could tell the weeks I qualified for PSE by the low NI contribution taken. I have reduced my payments and am hoping my payslip settles down next week. I always appeared to get the tax break... it was the NI contributions I missed out on !

At the end of the day, the choice is yours. Dropping out of PSE takes the edge off the incentive. I have a few weeks where I fell out of PSE. This was due to the inept pensions staff. They couldn't give me a definitive answer as to what the limit was. I spoke to payroll and HR before I did get an answer, although I can't remember who it was. At the end of the day, you have to remember that only 25% of your pension can be taken tax free.
IF you would like MORE than that, then look at a Stocks and Shares ISA. I also have a share account. This does have some advantages over a S & S ISA, the charges for holding your account can be much lower. Mine is a fixed payment. Whereas, Hargreaves Lansdown charge 0.45%. The larger the portfolio, the larger the charge. Not the case with my share account. If I stay within the Capital Gains Tax threshold, then I wont pay tax when I come to sell those shares. I intend to sell them in blocks. Around £6,000 per year. £500 per month on top of my NRA60 pension, AND a private pension I will draw down.