The Company pays contributions into your Level 100+ Retirement Account. You may contribute too. Remember, the value of your investments can go down as well as up and may be worth less than what was paid in.
What contributions will I pay?
Your Contributions
You may pay Additional Voluntary Contributions (AVCs) to your Retirement Account.
Company Contributions
The Company will allocate an amount equal to 2% of your Basic Salary to your Retirement Account.
How the contributions are used
Retirement Account
The Company contribution allocated to your Retirement Account, together with any AVCs you elect to pay, are invested with Standard Life Assurance Limited, who have been appointed by the Trustee.
There are a number of investment fund options from which to choose, and information regarding these can be found in the investment guide. Please remember that the value of these investments may go down as well as up and you may get back less than what was paid in. Any pension at retirement will be calculated by reference to the investment value of your Retirement Account and the Pension Rate applicable at that time.
Additional Voluntary Contributions (AVCs)
You can also choose to pay AVCs* into your Retirement Account after you join. AVCs are paid by salary deduction so that you can start, stop or change the amount of AVCs you pay at any time.
You don’t pay any income tax on the contributions you pay into your Retirement Account, so the amount you see your take-home pay reduce by is less than the actual contribution you choose to pay.
Currently, AVCs qualify for income tax relief at your highest rate, in the same way as your normal Scheme contributions although some restrictions apply to high earners. For more information please refer to the "How are my benefits taxed" section of the BAE Systems pension website.
AVCs might be of particular interest to those members who joined the Scheme later in their working life, or who are considering the possibility of retiring early. You can start, increase, decrease or stop paying money purchase AVCs at any time.
*Please be aware of how this may affect your annual allowance limit. For more information, please visit gov.uk.
Increase your payments regularly
A simple way of boosting your pension is to increase the amount you pay in each year through AVCs. So why not set an annual reminder in your diary to increase your payments? There may be restrictions, for example your annual allowance or tapered annual allowance, on when and how you can increase your payments, so check with the Pension Service Centre.
If you get a pay rise, this might be a good time to think about increasing your payments too. Regular increases can keep your payments manageable, in line with inflation and have a big impact on how much you could get back.
Increasing your AVCs by a small percentage each year could make a big difference. For example, if you start your payments at £150 a month and increase your payments by 5%, then the next year you pay £157.50 a month. Over time, this can add up.
Make a lump-sum payment
There are advantages to putting a one-off payment into your pension. For example, if you receive a bonus and pay it into your pension, you'll get tax benefits from the Government.
Check your pension’s progress
The pension calculator is a handy tool that helps you work out what your pension could be worth – and see if you're saving enough.
How much might you get? >
Useful documents
Investment Guide for the BAE Systems Pension Scheme (AVC and Level 100+ Retirement Account) (PDF, 296KB)
The Trustee has provided you with the following useful documents. Standard Life Assurance Limited are not responsible for the content of these documents.
100+ AVC Application and Amendment Form (PDF, 182KB)
100+ Investment Instruction Form (PDF, 195KB)
100+ Transfer In Enquiry Form (PDF, 131KB)
Do you need help?
Get some guidance
Members over 50 can get free retirement guidance from the government’s Pension Wise service.
Visit Pension Wise >