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Retirement & Savings

Pensions and AVCs

Make sure you are ready for the future by saving through a Pension Arrangement. It offers a low cost, flexible way of saving, especially when you factor in the company’s matching contributions. And because your contribution can be made via Salary Sacrifice you not only save on tax by contributing to a pension, you save on National Insurance Contributions too. 

Pension Contributions

Through Salary Sacrifice you swap some of your Total Pay in return for pension contributions of the same value and, as a result, you can reduce the amount of National Insurance that you pay. The proportion of your salary which you have ‘sacrificed’ is now paid into your pension scheme by the Company. This further limits the impact on your take home pay, while you make healthy savings for the future.

Additional Voluntary Contributions (AVCs)

AVCs are a tax-efficient way of saving more into your retirement account to enhance your benefits at retirement. You should make sure that you are making the maximum Regular Ordinary Contribution rate of 6% before making separate regular AVCs.

You can make regular AVCs as a percentage of your salary or you can make a lump sum AVC at any time:

  • One-off lump sum pension payment: Please do not use myChoice to request one-off AVC payments. Should you wish to pay a one-off lump sum into the Mercer Master Trust, please email uk.pensions@hpe.com with the amount you wish to pay by the 12th of the month (payroll cut-off) in which you wish to have the one-off payment deducted (AVC requests for December payroll must be sent by the 5th of Dec due to the early payroll cut-off date).
  • Adjusting monthly pension contributions: You can adjust your monthly contributions during the annual enrolment window. Alternatively, you can also do this at any point during the year by triggering an “Any Time” Qualifying Life Event (QLE) inside your myChoice account before the 1st of the month in which you would like the change to be effective from. If you need further help with this please contact the myChoice help desk via 0800 066 8895 or hpemychoiceUK@aon.com.

Standard Contribution Structure

The following applies to team members on Standard employment T&C's who participate in the Defined Contribution (Mercer Master Trust) Pension arrangement. Team members with legacy or non-standard T&C's may participate in other arrangements and/or may follow different contribution guidelines: 

Your Contribution  Company Contribution
0% 0%
4% 4%
5% 5%

6%

 6%

Mercer Money

Mercer Money is a powerful tool to support your all-round financial wellbeing. Your MMT pension is automatically connected to Mercer Money, providing you with a clear overview of how your retirement currently looks. It also allows you to bring together all your accounts (including debit and credit cards, savings, investments, mortgages, loans and pensions) and create a 360-degree view of your financial health.

The Mercer Money app is not only the new gateway to your MMT pension but it is also your online money coach - giving you tips, tools, guidance, and support on your money habits.