BGCM EC May 2017

The AVCs you pay will be invested by the Trustees on your behalf, in your name and in an investment fund chosen by you from those available, and used to provide extra benefits on your retirement. Your AVCs will receive the same immediate tax relief as your regular contributions to the Scheme. Your AVC benefits are not calculated on the basis of your Pensionable Pay. Instead, the benefits provided will be of equal value to your accumulated AVC funds. You can choose to increase your own pension, or provide extra pension for your dependants, or both. Subject to the restrictions described in Section 16 of this booklet, you can take your AVC fund as a tax-free lump sum. This would then form part of your Pension Commencement Lump Sum at retirement. Instead of paying AVCs to the Scheme you can make additional pension provision for yourself via a personal pension. You should note, however, that the charges made by an insurance company to administer a personal pension will be subject to the terms of the contract you have with them. No charges are made for administering AVCs under the Scheme. You should note that the tax-free limits mentioned above may restrict the amount of AVCs that you pay. These limits are set out in Section 16. If your AVCs mean that you are likely to exceed these limits you will be warned by the Trustees. Any excess AVCs may be refunded to you without interest.

If you would like more details about paying AVCs then please contact the Scheme Administrator.

GFTU contributions

The contributions that you pay represent only a portion of the cost of your pension benefits; the GFTU pays the balance of the cost of providing all members' benefits in the Scheme. The level of contributions paid by the GFTU is determined by the Trustees after seeking the advice of the Scheme Actuary.

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