- Home
- Joining the pension
- Get the most from your pension
- Payment options
- Investment choices
- Common questions
Benefits of company pensions
It's not just your payments
When you join your company pension, you're not the only one paying into it.
Your employer will contribute too - putting money straight into your pension. And that’s on top of your salary. You'll also get tax benefits from the Government.
You get this money invested from the moment you join, so every month you delay, you lose out on those payments and tax benefits.
This illustration shows you how things can add up. It assumes that both you and your employer are paying in. Your payment will also include basic rate tax relief where applicable.
Laws and tax rules may change in the future. The information here is based on our understanding in April 2022. Your own circumstances and where you live in the UK also have an impact on tax treatment.
It's your pension
It's your pension, no matter what. It remains yours, even if:
- You move job
- The company you work for changes hands
You may be able to carry on paying into it, change your investments - or even transfer it into another pension - if you move on.
Although your employer contributes towards your pension, they don't look after it - they forward your payments on to Standard Life Assurance Limited who administer your pension on your behalf. This means if anything happens to your employer, for example they change hands or go out of business, you won't lose your pension.
You're in control
When you join, payments start at a minimum level, and you can choose to pay more if you want to. It's worth thinking about this, as paying the minimum might not be enough to get you the lifestyle you'd like after you stop working.
Find out if you're saving enough
When you join the company pension, your money automatically goes into an investment option your employer has chosen, unless you've chosen something different.
You can choose to leave your money there - or you can decide to move it into a different option you think will suit you better.
Whichever choice you make doesn't have to be final - you can change your mind about where your money is invested.
Investments can go down as well as up and you may get back less than what was paid in.