You can choose an amount to pay each month, for example £20, or a percentage of your monthly salary.
If you buy added pension based on a percentage of your monthly salary, the amount you pay will increase or decrease if your salary increases or decreases.
You can use the alpha Added Pension Calculator to work out how much added pension costs to buy.
Your employer will deduct the payments from your salary to buy the added pension. All contributions are non-refundable.
Monthly added pension contracts start on 1 April. However, if you apply to buy added pension within the first three months of joining the scheme, we will automatically backdate your contributions to your start date.
You must apply to buy added pension by monthly contribution before the deadline each year. This is usually early March, and your employer will notify you of the deadline by January.
You will not be able to amend or cancel your monthly payments between 1 April – 31 March.
The minimum monthly contribution is £10. There is no maximum monthly contribution limit, you can choose to pay 100% of your salary after the standard pension contributions and NI deductions, although there is an overall limit to the amount of added pension you can buy.
The limit is reviewed each year and adjusted in line with rises in the cost of living. Please see our Limits and deadlines page for more information.
As added pension rates are age-based, you'll buy less added pension in year two than in year one, because you are older. If you wanted to go on buying the same amount of added pension each year, you’d need to increase your contribution amount each year.
If you were buying added pension before you moved into the alpha scheme, you can continue to buy added pension at the same rate until the end date of your contract or until you choose to cancel it. The added pension you have built up will go towards your benefits in your previous scheme.
If you’re buying added pension in alpha, your contributions must be paid for the full scheme year and cannot be ceased before 31 March.