Welcome to the Iron Mountain Company pension

Iron Mountain has chosen Aviva to help you make the most of your savings.

Iron Mountain provides you with your own pension to save for your retirement. Your pension enables you to build up a pot of money that can be used when you retire. It gives you a tax-efficient way to invest, and you could benefit from a regular employer contribution. 

 

How your pension works

1. You make payments into your pension plan, and your employer may also have to. You don’t pay any tax or national insurance on payments your employer makes, and you get tax relief on any payments you make yourself.  If your employer runs a salary exchange arrangement you’ll get even more in the form of National Insurance savings. Contributions paid under salary exchange arrangements (also called salary sacrifice) are paid by your employer, as they are a separate benefit of employment. They will not show up in your pension as coming from you. Contact your employer for more information.
2. This money is then invested in funds to give it a chance to grow. Just remember that, as with any investment, the value can go down as well as up, and it could be worth less than has been paid in. You can choose the funds or investment option for your pension at any time after the first payment is made.
3. Aviva charges for managing your pension plan and the funds you invest in may have extra charges. These charges will reduce the value of your pension plan.
   
4. Aviva sets up your pension plan so you can use the money you’ve built up to provide yourself with retirement benefits from your chosen retirement age, but you can take your benefits at any time from the age of 55 (57 from 6 April 2028 if you joined after 3 November 2021). There are various ways of doing this. So we’ll write to you well in advance to let you know what your options are.

For more details about how your pension works, read the ‘Key features’ and ‘Terms and conditions’ in 'Your company pension scheme - An essential guide for employees' on the documents page.

Just remember that, as with any investment, the value of your pension plan can go down as well as up, so it may be worth less than the amount paid in.  

Please note that tax rules may change, and your tax treatment will depend on your personal circumstances.

 

For a start, automatic enrolment is intended to make it easier for you to invest for your retirement. Rather than you having to take steps to join a pension, most employees will be signed up as a matter of course.

But perhaps the biggest benefit is that if you’re automatically enrolled, your employer will contribute to your pension as well as you.

Whether you are automatically enrolled, or you choose to opt in or join, you will benefit from tax relief from the government on any contribution you make. For every 80p you pay into your pension, the government adds 20p in tax relief, increasing it to a total contribution of £1. So, if you paid £80 into your pension each month, the government would boost it to £100. Your employer may have opted for salary sacrifice, or exchange. This is an arrangement between you and your employer. Please contact your employer for more information.

Please note that tax rules may change and your tax treatment will depend on your personal circumstances. The value of your investments can go down as well as up, and you may get back less than has been invested.

Staying in or opting out - you're in control

If you're auto-enrolled you can opt out if you want to. If you do so within a month, any contributions already paid will be refunded. If you opt out later, this money will stay in your pension.

If you opt out, you will miss out on employer contributions and any tax relief from the government. However, you may be able to change your mind and opt back in.

If you stay opted out, your employer will normally put you back into the pension in around three years. But you can again choose whether to opt out. Remember that the sooner you join, the better your chance of a more comfortable retirement.