Increasing your benefits

You can paying Additional Voluntary Contributions (AVCs) arranged through the LGPS (in-house AVCs).

All local government pension funds have an AVC arrangement in which you can invest money, deducted directly from your pay, through an AVC provider. 

Our current AVC provider is the Prudential.

If you choose to pay AVCs under the LGPS, the AVCs are invested separately in funds managed by our AVC provider.

You have your own personal account that, over time, builds up with your contributions and the returns on your investment, and will be available to you when you retire. You can often choose which investment route you prefer.

For more information, see Pru: Manage your Local Government AVC Pension Plan.

You can elect to pay an AVC if you are in either the main or 50/50 section of the scheme.

You decide how much you can afford to pay. AVCs are deducted from your pay, just like your normal contributions. Your LGPS and AVC contributions are deducted before your tax is worked out, so, if you pay tax, you receive tax relief automatically through the payroll. You qualify for tax relief (normally at your highest rate) on all pension contributions up to 100% of your taxable earnings, including your normal contributions.

Deductions start from the next available pay period after your election has been accepted and you may vary or cease payment at any time whilst you are paying into the LGPS.

Our in-house AVC provider is the Prudential. If you would like more detailed information you can visit The Prudential's AVC Information page.

If you decide that you wish to start paying AVCs, you can set up your contributions at any time by visiting The Prudential's AVC Joining page.

Once you have started paying AVCs, you can register your online account with Prudential by visiting The Prudential's online registration page - you will need your policy number, date of birth and postcode to register your account.

Once you have registered your online account, you can use it to:

• check the value of your policy
• view your AVC documents online
• contact the Prudential using their secure message service
• update your personal information.

Existing members can also use the Prudential's telephone enquiry line on 0345 6000 343.

For more information about AVCs, see A member's guide to AVCs.