UUPS - About United Utilities

Ways to increase your benefitsYou have the option topay Additional VoluntaryContributions (AVCs) whichcan be used to increaseyour pension benefits.Contributions to recognisedAVC arrangements currentlyreceive tax relief.Members can pay Additional VoluntaryContributions (AVCs), which also attracttax relief.Any AVCs that you pay, or have paid,in excess of the 7% of PensionableEarnings limit will not attract additionalcontributions from the Company.Alternatively, you can pay ‘Free StandingAdditional Voluntary Contributions’(FSAVCs) to some insurance companiesand other financial organisations.(NOTE: If you set up FSAVCs, neither theCompany nor UUPS will be involved butyou will still be entitled to tax relief.)You have the same investment choice foryour AVCs as you have for your RegularContributions (see the Investmentsection on page 12 and the separate‘Investment Choices’ leaflet).Further information about the AVCarrangements is available from theUnited Utilities website or the SchemeAdministrator (see page 25).AVCs and FSAVCs may be used to:increase your own retirement pension,and your lump sum; andincrease your spouse’s anddependants’ benefits.Please note that the HMRC haveimposed a limit on the amount ofpension savings which can receive taxrelief. This is known as the AnnualAllowance. For the current amountof the Annual Allowance please referto the pension website:www.unitedutilities.com/pensionsFor some members, the scope for taxeffective additional pension provisionmay be restricted by the allowancesrecently introduced by HMRC (seepage 22 for further details on HMRCallowances).10