Page 10 - BoAML Plan Handbook 17 V2.0

Contributions

Employer contributions Member contributions

Your employer contributes Automatic enrolment You can contribute You have the same investment options for your AVCs as
the other contributions your Member Account receives.
Your employer pays monthly contributions to your Member Your employer must continue to pay contributions for employee If you are an employee member, you can also make contributions
Account while you are in service and an employee member Plan members of at least the minimum level required under to the Plan and benefit from tax relief (up to certain limits). However, your Member Account (including any AVCs) must
of the Plan. pension automatic enrolment legislation. The level of bank Remember that the more you save and the sooner you start, be invested in one investment approach: either a Lifestyle
contributions currently meets or exceeds this minimum level. the bigger your savings are likely to be when you come to retire. option or using Freestyle. You are unable to invest member
You will receive these contributions from the beginning of contributions in a Lifestyle option and AVCs in Freestyle,
the month in which you join the Plan. Please consider your personal tax circumstances carefully or vice versa; see page 14 and onwards.
Grandfathered contributions before updating your choices. See page 13 for details of the
Your employer's contributions are based on your Plan Salary. tax-efficient saving limits. Like member contributions through MyBenefitChoices, AVCs
Contributions are calculated on 1 April each year and remain If you have been grandfathered, the contributions that your are deducted from your earnings before tax is calculated,
fixed until the following 1 April. They are based on the length employer pays may differ to those described here. For more To see the effect that increasing your contributions giving you immediate tax relief at your highest rate (up to
of your service with your employer, as set out below. details, please refer to the communications your employer sent has on your Member Account, use the Pension Planner certain limits – see page 13). However, AVCs are not made
you in November 2012 or log on to the Plan administration on the Plan administration website. Use the links to
If you have less than 10 years’ complete continuous service via Salary Sacrifice.
as at the latest 1 April: website through SSO via HR Connect (or via HR Interchange SSO via HR Connect or via HR Interchange if you are
if you are an MBNA employee) or at an MBNA employee (see page 6 for details) or go to
• Your employer pays 8%* of your Plan Salary into your www.hartlinkonline.co.uk/boaml. www.hartlinkonline.co.uk/boaml. Incentive deferral/special contributions
Member Account annually.
Important note: To help you decide what level of tax-efficient contributions You may also be able to contribute any incentive deferral
If you have 10 years or more of complete continuous service If you were a member of the Bank of America UK Pension is right for you, use the Annual Allowance Estimator on the or special contributions into the Plan and benefit from the
as at the latest 1 April: Plan before 31 December 2012 with more than 10 years’ MyBenefitChoices website – log on via SSO (or here if you same tax advantages you receive on other Salary Sacrifice
contributions. Details will be provided at the time if this
are an MBNA employee).
• Your employer increases its contributions to 12%* annually. service, and your grandfathered amount included any option is available to you.
matching contributions that were paid by your employer, you
Your employer will normally stop making contributions to your had to contribute at least the same monetary amount that Member contributions through
Member Account in the month before the date you leave you were paying before 1 January 2013 to continue to receive MyBenefitChoices Savings outside of the Plan
the Plan or access your savings. the matching element of grandfathering. This requirement no You can pay into any number of pension arrangements while
longer applies since 1 April 2016. Any member contributions you make through MyBenefitChoices being a member of the Plan, such as a personal or stakeholder
will be made through Salary Sacrifice. Salary Sacrifice is a
* If your earnings are above a certain level (find out more way of making contributions to the Plan that, under current pension plan, although your employer will not contribute to
on the MyBenefitChoices website) please note: tax laws, reduces the National Insurance contributions paid by any other arrangement.
• Your employer's core pension benefit will be Your employer also meets the costs associated with most members and your employer. You can also make contributions to other tax-efficient saving
automatically flexed down to £10,000 a year. providing a certain level of life cover for you, as well You can change how much you contribute to your Member vehicles, for example Individual Savings Accounts (ISAs).
• This is so that you do not pay unexpected tax on as the general administration costs of the Plan. Account on the MyBenefitChoices website either: Please note that ISAs or similar alternatives are not included
your savings. You would receive a pension cash in the calculation of the Annual Allowance (see page 13
allowance (reduced for employer National Insurance • During the MyBenefitChoices Annual Enrolment period each for details).
(NI) contributions) to make up your core pension November, and
entitlement. It would also be subject to income tax • At any time during the year; see page 36 for more details. Savings on leaving the Plan
and employee NI deductions in the same way as your
other salary payments. Log on to MyBenefitChoices via SSO (or here if you are As soon as you leave the Plan, your employer will stop making
an MBNA employee). contributions to your Member Account and you will become
• You can override this decision at any time.
a Deferred Member. See page 32 for more details.
• Find out more and use tools to help you make the right
decision on the MyBenefitChoices website – log on via Additional Voluntary Contributions
SSO (or here if you are an MBNA employee). You can also choose to make Additional Voluntary Contributions
(AVCs) at any point during the year to secure additional savings. Please note:
If you are interested in paying AVCs, you should complete an • If you are a basic-rate tax payer, every £100 you pay
AVC form and return it to the Plan Administrators; see page 36 only costs you £80 (in terms of take-home earnings).
for details.
• If you are paying a higher tax rate of 40%,
There are several reasons why you might consider every £100 costs you just £60 (in terms of
making additional contributions via MyBenefitChoices take-home earnings).
and/or AVCs.
• If you are an additional rate tax payer, every £100
You may: costs £55 (in terms of take-home earnings).
• Wish to increase your savings;
• Have joined the Plan late in your career; or Reminder: Please consider your personal tax circumstances
carefully before making contributions. See page 13 for details
• Look forward to retiring early.
of the tax-efficient saving limits.

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