What is an AVC?
An AVC is a scheme where money is deducted directly from your salary and invested through an AVC provider. Your AVC fund should grow as it is invested and will be available to you when you retire.
The Nottinghamshire County Council Pension Fund has two in-house AVC scheme providers, these are:
You can also pay in-house AVCs to provide additional life cover. Your LGPS membership already gives you cover of 3 times your assumed pensionable pay if you die in service, but you can pay AVCs to increase this or use it to provide additional benefits for your dependants in the event of your death in service. This may be subject to the satisfactory completion of a medical questionnaire.
Your employer can contribute to your in-house AVC scheme at their own discretion. This is known as a shared cost AVC arrangement. The shared cost AVC facility is not available to councillors.
The Local Government Association have put together a guide to help answer some frequently asked questions surrounding AVCs please see the link on the right.
How much can I pay?
You decide how much you can afford to pay, up to 100% of taxable earnings (after allowing for other deductions from your pay), and your contributions will qualify for full tax relief.
To find out more or to open an AVC account you will need to speak to one of our AVC providers via the links on this page.
Retirement Options
When you retire you can decide whether to buy an annuity (a pension) from an insurance company, or convert it into a top up LGPS pension or you may be able to take all or part of your AVC fund as a lump sum.
You may not however, chose to defer your AVC fund past retirement unless you are retiring on 'flexible retirement' grounds.
Getting Guidance
Deciding how to use your AVC plan is one of the most important financial decisions you are likely to make, so we recommend you get guidance from Pension Wise to help you decide which option is best for you.
Pension Wise is a government service from MoneyHelper that offers free, impartial guidance about your defined contribution pension options. Your AVC is a defined contribution pension that is attached to your LGPS pension.
Because it is such an important decision, we are not allowed to proceed with your application to take your AVCs until you tell us that you have with either received guidance from Pension Wise or you do not wish to take it. This is a legal requirement.
Our Retirement Pack contains more information and a guidance declaration form for you to complete when you are taking your benefits.
