Welcome to the Barnardo's Retirement Savings Plan (BRSP)

Find information about your pension and investing for your future.

Making the most of online saving with Aviva

As your employer, we're interested in your future as well as your present. That's why we've set up a company pension plan to help you invest for your retirement. The plan is run by Aviva, one of Europe's leading life and pension plan providers.

When you reach your chosen retirement age, you can use the money you've invested in your pension to provide you with retirement benefits. And as far away as that might seem today, you should start thinking about it now. The sooner you start investing, the more options and financial freedom you're likely to have when you retire.

There are many benefits to being a member of BRSP, including:

  • a flexible, tax-efficient way to save for your retirement
  • contributions of 4% or 6% of salary from Barnardo’s, matching your own pension contributions
  • an option to pay extra into your pension savings (not matched by Barnardo’s)
  • tax-free life assurance of at least four times your annual earnings to help your family and loved ones if you die whilst employed by Barnardo’s
  • the value of your pension fund returned to your family and loved ones if you die before retiring.

When you reach your chosen retirement age, you can choose to take your retirement benefits in one or any combination of the following ways:

  • Take part of or your entire pension pot as a cash lump sum with the first 25% usually being paid tax free.
  • Take your money as and when you need it (although this will mean transferring your money to a different type of pension plan).
  • Use your pension pot to buy an income for life.

You may have to pay income tax on the retirement benefits you take depending on your personal circumstances.

You will receive an annual statement of your retirement savings, including projections of what you may receive at retirement based on certain assumptions. The BRSP is called either a ‘money purchase’ or ‘defined contribution’ pension arrangement. What you get back is not guaranteed. It will depend on investment performance, charges and the cost of converting your pension pot. The value of investments can go down as well as up and you may get back less than has been invested.

When you take your retirement benefits, you can normally take up to 25% of your pot tax-free. However you may have to pay income tax on the retirement benefits you take from your pension plan. Income payments and lump sum payments are both treated as income, and therefore the tax you pay will depend on your personal circumstances and may be subject to change.

On this site you'll find all you need to know about the Barnardo's Retirement Savings Plan, whether or not you're already a member of the plan please click here for a BRSP summary.

Financial Education Seminars

We've put together a series of presentations to guide you through the different aspects of saving into a pension, accessing your pension savings, and getting your retirement plans in order. 

For more information about our pension seminars, to view dates and times, and to book your place follow the link below. 

Pension Seminars

 

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.

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

 

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Joining information

You will automatically be enrolled into the company pension when you begin your employment. You can find out more about the company pension by reading the documents on the Documents page. 

What happens next?

If you’re not yet a member of the workplace pension scheme, you’ll fall into one of three categories depending on your age and how much you earn. Your employer will provide more information about the category that applies to you.

You'll be automatically enrolled into the pension scheme Step 1 of 0

This means pension contributions will automatically be taken from your salary and you'll also start to receive employer pension contributions.

You can opt in Step 2 of 0

You can choose to opt in; you'll start to pay pension contributions and receive contributions from your employer.

You can join Step 3 of 0

You can choose to join; you'll pay in pension contributions from your salary and start saving towards your retirement, but you won't necessarily receive pension contributions. 

What's in it for you?

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.

Contact us

Got a question? We are here to help

Contact Aviva

Phone: 0800 145 5744

Email: contactus@aviva.com

Contact your employer

Barnardo's Pensions Department

020 8498 7088

PHIL@barnardos.org.uk

Guidance and Advice

This site does not provide financial advice.

MoneyHelper

If you want more help thinking about pensions and investments, a good place to start is MoneyHelper, the government-backed free guidance service. The MoneyHelper service won't tell you what you should do, but they'll provide you with information to help you understand your options.

Learn more "Read more about MoneyHelper"

Contact an adviser

For financial advice please contact your financial adviser. If you don't have an adviser, MoneyHelper can help you find one in your area. An adviser may charge for their services.

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