LIFETRACK
Your membership
Additional Contributions
Defined contribution (DC) additional voluntary contributions (AVCs)
Contributing Members can choose to pay AVCs into the Principal Employer’s Mercer Master Trust (RWE Retirement Savings Plan Section) on a Defined Contribution (DC) (also known as money purchase) basis.
If you have AVCs in the Mercer Master Trust (RWE Retirement Savings Plan Section), you may be able to transfer them back into the RWE Group as you approach retirement and take some or all of the AVCs as a lump sum. Alternatively, you can leave them in the Mercer Master Trust (RWE Retirement Savings Plan Section) and access retirement options there.
To access information about your AVCs in the RWE Retirement Savings Plan Section of the Mercer Master Trust, and your options in that scheme as you approach retirement, visit the contact page.
If you are a Contributing Member, you can also access more information about paying AVCs on Your Hub.
If you have ‘with profits’ AVCs with Prudential remaining in the Main Section, please contact the Administrator of RWE Group, WTW, for further information about your benefits and options.
It’s always best to seek professional advice or guidance before deciding what to do with your AVCs. Pensions Wise, part of the government’s MoneyHelper initiative, provides impartial guidance to people aged 50 or over about their defined contribution (DC) pension savings and is free of charge. A financial adviser can provide advice about what to do with your AVCs.
Added Years
You can choose to pay extra contributions to buy extra years of Contributing Service with the Group Trustees’ agreement, up to a maximum of 40 years of Contributing Service. These additional years are then taken into account when calculating your benefits under the Main Section. Added years can be purchased by regular extra contributions, a one-off lump sum payment or a combination of the two.
If you stop being a Contributing Member before your Normal Pension Age, and have not finished paying for your added years, or choose to stop paying your extra contributions early, only the proportion you have paid for will be added to your Contributing Service.
Disclaimer
This guide is a summary of the main provisions of the RWE Group relevant to you and your benefits. It is not, and is not intended to be, a summary of every detail of the RWE Group or to cover every set of circumstances.
The RWE Group’s detailed benefit provisions are set out in its formal governing documents, the trust deed and rules. This guide summarises the benefits provided by the RWE Group and its related provisions. Whilst every effort has been made to summarise the benefits and provisions of the RWE Group accurately, if there are any differences between this guide and the trust deed and rules, the trust deed and rules (as amended from time to time) will apply and override the terms of this guide.
This guide is dated January 2025. Every effort has been made to ensure the guide is up to date and accurate at the time of writing, however, subsequent changes to the RWE Group’s governing documents, applicable legislation and/or the tax regime may consequently affect its accuracy or completeness.