About your pension

The money in your pension pot is yours for life, although it needs to remain in a pension plan until you retire. If you decide to leave your employer, it’s up to you what you do with your pension. You could leave your money where it is until you retire or move it to another pension, such as your new employer’s pension plan.

Money goes into your pension plan automatically. Any contribution you make will go straight into your pension pot. Whitbread will add some extra money, too. And if you earn enough to pay tax, you’ll get some of that back from the government, which helps to reduce the cost. There are different ways you can boost the money going into your pension pot, which can help you aim for a bigger pension. 

Currently, the NMPA (normal minimum pension age) is 55. From 6 April 2028, the NMPA will increase to 57. So, from 6 April 2028 you’ll need to be aged 57 or older before you can start taking money from your pension. There are still some circumstances where you can take money earlier, like if you’re suffering from ill health or have a protected pension age.

Your money is invested to give it a chance to grow. When it comes to how your money is invested, you can get involved as much as you like. You can choose from three different approaches. 

Like with other investments, the value of the money in your pension pot can go down as well as up. Your money isn't guaranteed and there’s a risk you may get back less than what was paid in. 

Every month, you save part of your salary into your pension pot.

When it comes to you own contribution, it is taken from your salary before you pay tax, so you are saving money. This is known as tax relief. You might also be able to use Pension Exchange, which means you’ll get even more in the form of National Insurance savings. Find out more about Pension Exchange.

All of this makes up the total amount going into your pension pot each month. 

We invest the money in investment funds to give it a chance to grow. The amount you get when you’re ready to start taking your money depends on:

• how much has gone into your pension pot, from you and your employer
• how much you’ve paid in charges
• the performance of the funds you’ve invested in

The aim of investing is to give your money the chance to grow over time. Hopefully, by the time you come to use the money in your pension pot, you’ll have more than you would if you hadn’t invested it. Because it’s invested, the value of your pension pot will go up and down every day. Some funds go up and down more than others, depending on the level of risk they are exposed to.

You can find out more about how investing works in our Financial Wellbeing Hub . If you intend to change the way you invest your money, we recommend you speak to a regulated financial adviser to go over your investment choices

Increasing how much you pay into your pension - even by a small amount - can make a big difference by the time you retire. 

If you are in the Pension Options Section, you can change your contributions at any time. You can find out whether you are in the Pension Options Section by going to Dayforce.

Learn more about how much you can save and how you can increase the contributions to your pension. 

You can choose to add more money to your pension pot by paying-in a lump sum. This is sometimes known as making an additional voluntary contribution (AVC).

Perhaps you get an annual bonus, or maybe you’ve earned some extra money. You’d usually pay tax on it, then spend it. But that money could be your lump sum, going straight into your pension pot, in one go. When it’s there, it can benefit from tax relief and has the potential to grow in value. If the money you pay in doesn’t come from your salary, you’ll have to claim the tax relief yourself.

To make an AVC, log in to Dayforce and select the Benefits tab on your profile.

Do you have pensions that you left behind with previous employers? Maybe that was some time ago. Have you thought about tracking them down and putting them ‘under one roof’?

And have you considered the fact that you might be paying higher charges in these older pensions you left behind?

Transferring is not right for everyone, and it’s important to check whether any valuable benefits may be lost. Some pension providers may also charge exit fees for transferring your pension. In some instances, you may be required to obtain financial advice, for which a fee will be charged.