Opting out of your pension scheme
Your employer has appointed Aviva to act on their behalf to deal with requests to opt out of their pension scheme.
Consider carefully
Opting out of your pension scheme will reduce your retirement income, so its important to understand what you would be giving up. Remember that, in addition to your own contributions, you will also benefit from your employer's contributions and tax relief you may get from the government.
Example of how it works
So, with this example you would get an £80 contribution, but only pay for half of it.
We've based the figures in this example on monthly pensionable pay of £1,000, a 4% contribution from you, an amount equivalent to 1% coming from basic rate tax relief, and a 3% contribution from your employer. We've assumed you're a basic rate tax payer.
The figures for you will depend on the contribution levels. If you pay tax at a higher rate, you may need to claim the difference through your tax return.
You may have made a salary exchange (some people call it salary sacrifice) agreement with your employer. If so, this example doesn't work for you exactly. You don't pay tax or National Insurance contributions on the salary you've sacrificed. Please speak to your employer for more information about your agreement.
What to do next
Your next steps
- If you want to remain in your employer's pension scheme at the contribution rate you've been given, then there is no further action for you to take
- If you want to pay a different contribution, please speak with your employer. The change may not happen before your next payment is taken
- By choosing to opt out, you will be stopping all future regular contributions and reducing your retirement income
- If you still want to opt out, then click below to continue. Please remember you can ask to re-join the scheme - your employer must allow this at least once a year
Useful links
Pension CalculatorUse our pension calculator to get an estimate of how much your pension could be worth when you retire.