Your workplace pension

Keep a close eye on how your retirement's shaping up this tax year end

At a time when your finances may be on your mind, you can:

  • Easily check on your workplace pension through your online account
  • Track your fund performance, see your projected total and manage your funds
  • Understand all your options for taking your pension money when the time is right
Manage your pension online

Why you may want to top up before tax year end

When you pay into your pension, you get tax relief on up to 100% of your UK earnings, so that every £100 going in usually only costs you a maximum of £80.

As this helps your money work harder, some people choose to pay more into their pension, either by boosting their regular payments, or with a one-off amount.

Most of us can pay in up to £60,000 each tax year and still get tax relief. This figure includes tax relief and employer contributions – and is known as your annual allowance.

Importantly, you can carry forward any allowance you’ve not used from the previous three tax years. So 5 April 2025 could be your last chance to top up your pension and benefit from unused allowance for the 2021/2022 tax year.

Take charge of your workplace pension

Your workplace pension is a crucial part of the journey towards your retirement goals – which means you should be both in the know and in control. When it’s with Aviva, you can check your pension savings – and see where it’s being invested – whenever you want. 

You can also update your personal details, nominate beneficiaries and find retirement planning tools, simply by logging into your online account. It doesn’t matter whether it’s the first thing on your morning to-do list or the idea strikes you just before bed – you’re in control 24/7.

How your workplace pension works

Your employer will usually set up your workplace pension for you without you having to ask. Here's what happens after that.

  1. Pay into your pension
    This will come directly from your salary, usually every month. It's an automatic payment so you won't need to worry about missing one. In most cases, each time you make a payment your employer will too. Check with your employer for the current breakdown of the money paid in (often shown as a percentage of your salary before tax although some of the deductions may be from your salary after tax), and whether they'll increase their contribution if you increase yours.
  2. Your money is put to work
    Everything paid into your pension is invested, usually in investment funds. Your employer may choose the fund or funds for you but you also have the option to pick them yourself. Investment funds pool your money with that of many other investors, spreading it across a mix of different investments to encourage more even growth and less risk – although all funds have some risk. Depending on the fund type, your money could be invested in property, shares in companies, bonds, or a mixture of investment types.

    Please remember that charges may apply to your pensions and there may be additional charges depending on where you invest.

    Your pension may be in a long-term strategy, starting in more higher risk investments to encourage growth, before moving into lower risk investments in the years closer to retirement. 

    Your workplace pension gives you options, and it's a good idea to regularly review where it’s invested to make sure you're making the most of your pension money. Just remember, the value of your investments could go down as well as up, and you could get back less than has been paid in.
  3. Reap the benefits
    When you reach a minimum age, you can start to draw money from your pension if you wish. At the moment, that age is 55, but from 6 April 2028 it will be 57, unless you have a protected pension age.

    When you're ready to access your pension, you'll have lots of options when it comes to using your pension – you could withdraw a cash lump sum, turn it into a regular income, or keep it invested and just take some out if and when you need it. Or you could mix-and-match all three. Whatever helps you live the retirement you want.

Benefits of your workplace pension 

Invest well to rest well

All the money you pay into your pension will be invested. All investments involve some risk, but it also has the potential to grow your money over time.

You should remember the value of your pension can go down as well as up and you could get back less than has been paid in.

Value for money

All pension schemes are assessed to make sure they’re offering value for money to their members and that they’re properly looked after. In some schemes, this is done by the trustees, supported by professional advisers, while in others it’s done by an Independent Governance Committee (IGC). 

How to keep in touch with your workplace pension

Whether this is your first workplace pension or one of many you have, knowing where it is at every moment could save plenty of paper trail detective work later. Following your pension's progress could also help you feel on the right path, or give you the opportunity to reassess your plans sooner.

Here's how to check it through your online Aviva account:

If your pension plan number starts with ‘TK’ or ‘SP’

If your account number starts with GS or your membership number starts with F

Pension planning and support

Simply having a pension may give you a future-proofed feeling. But with a quick check-in here and a little attention there, you could offer it the best chance to reach its potential. Here are some tips and tools to help.

Leaving a job with an Aviva pension

Leaving a company that pays into an Aviva pension means your payments in may stop, but that’s not the end of the story. It’s worth knowing the things you can do right away to make sure your pension stays working hard for you, and what you could do with it next.

Bringing your pensions together

Sometimes fewer pensions can be simpler. They're not scattered so far and wide. There may be less paperwork. Perhaps even lower overall admin fees. So if you have a handful of workplace pensions, see if combining them into one pension might be right for you.

Aviva Financial Advice

If you’ve got pensions, investments or savings worth £150,000 or more, Aviva Financial Advice can build a personalised plan for you using products from Aviva and other carefully selected investment partners.

Our pension calculator

Tap in a few details about yourself and any pensions you have. You'll then see how much your pensions could be worth to you in retirement, based on different ways of taking the money.

Shape my future

This tool matches your potential retirement income against how you imagine your lifestyle to look once you wave goodbye to work – including household bills, food costs and holidays. 

All our retirement tools and calculators

There's more where those came from. We can help you crunch the numbers to build a clearer picture of your future years and money, from your life expectancy to the tax you'll pay on your pension withdrawals.

How to use your pension when the moment arrives

When it comes to pensions, there’s loads you can do with what you’ve built once you reach your retirement date. The secret to hitting your retirement goals is making your pension work its socks off. Have a nose through the options available to you.

Take the money

You could take your pension as one lump sum withdrawal. Check out what this means for your retirement and what your other options are.

Draw an income when it suits you

If your retirement lifestyle needs flexibility, an income drawdown could be for you. It lets you draw as much of your pension as you need, when you need it.

Leave your pension to grow

Keep your nest egg growing by leaving your money right where it is – it could make a big difference.

Get a guaranteed income for life

A pension annuity gives you a guaranteed income for the rest of your life – so you can reach for your retirement goals from a rock-solid base.

Mix and match

Choosing a mixture of retirement options could be the best way to help you reach your goals.