A pension is a long-term investment. Its value can go down as well as up and could be worth less than was paid in. Laws and tax rules may change in the future. Your own circumstances and where you live in the UK will also have an impact on tax treatment.

Why top up your pension plan?

Saving into a pension plan can help you build up savings for later life. It’s there so that when you decide to either stop working or reduce your hours you can still have enough to live on.

Even if you feel that your savings are on track to live comfortably in retirement, you can still top up your pension plan to help give your savings a boost.

You'll get tax relief on your savings

We'll automatically claim 20% tax relief to top up every payment you make. So for every £80 you pay in, £100 will go into your pension. Higher-rate tax payer? You may be able to claim extra tax relief from the government in your self-assessment.

The maximum amount you can get tax relief on is normally 100% of your salary (up to £60,000). This is called the annual allowance. In 2023 this increased from £40,000 to £60,000, meaning you can now contribute more to your pension pot without worrying about the tax implications.

You can find out more about tax relief and get some examples in our pension basics guide.

What you can do