Additional voluntary contributions and shared cost additional voluntary contributions
25.—(1) An active member may elect to pay additional voluntary contributions (“AVCs”) into a scheme established under contract between his appropriate administering authority and a body approved for the purposes of the Finance Act 2004 (“an additional voluntary contributions arrangement”).
(2) The additional voluntary contributions arrangement must be a money purchase pension scheme registered in accordance with the Finance Act 2004 and administered in accordance with that Act and the Pensions Act 2004(1).
(3) Where the member’s employing authority contributes to the scheme, the additional voluntary contributions arrangement is to be known as a shared cost additional voluntary contributions arrangement and contributions to it as “SCAVCs”.
(4) Such AVCs or SCAVCs are in addition to any other contributions the member may pay under regulation 23.
(5) Where the member elects to pay AVCs or SCAVCs, he must first—
(a)notify his employing authority in writing; and
(b)in the notification specify—
(i)the percentage of his pensionable pay he wishes to pay or the amount he wishes to pay on his usual pay days from his pay,
(ii)whether he wishes any of his AVCs or SCAVCs to be used to provide benefits payable on his death, and
(iii)if he does, the proportion to be so used.
(6) A member may—
(a)vary—
(i)the amount of his AVCs or SCAVCs, or
(ii)the proportion of them to be used to provide benefits payable on his death; or
(b)stop paying AVCs or SCAVCs.
(7) Where he wishes to do so, he must first notify his employing authority in writing.
(8) An active member may, by notifying his administering authority in writing, transfer into his additional voluntary contributions arrangement constituted under this regulation the accumulated value of any other additional voluntary contributions arrangement to which he has subscribed.
(9) An election to pay AVCs or SCAVCs may be made in respect of each employment in respect of which a person is a member.
(10) The maximum a person may specify under paragraph (5)(b)(i) or notify under paragraph (7) as the varied amount in respect of each employment is 50 per cent of the pensionable pay of that employment or an amount equal to 50 per cent of the pensionable pay of that employment.