Evolve Pensions

What Do I Pay?

Your Employer has defined the rates of standard contributions* that you both will pay, along with the pay basis on which they are calculated. Crystal operates a ‘net-pay’ arrangement meaning that your contributions are taken out of your earnings before they are taxed. Head to our page on Tax Relief to learn more.

Once both you and your Employer’s contributions are deducted, your Employer will forward payment to us and we will invest it in either the default fund or your self-selected fund(s).

You can monitor your contributions and current fund value on evoLink.

The percentage of contributions you pay may increase over time in line with legislative minimums, details of which will be sent by email to you in advance of any change.

*For further information about your standard contributions please contact your Employer or the Administration Team.

There is a small charge to cover the cost of the administration of Crystal, together with an investment charge depending on the fund you are invested in.

Can I Pay More?

You can pay Additional Voluntary Contributions, known as AVCs, on top of the standard contributions defined by your Employer. These can either be paid as a percentage of your pensionable pay, a fixed monetary amount or, as a one-off payment.

Any AVCs you pay will be invested in the same way as your standard contributions and will attract the highest rate of tax relief calculated by your payroll without the need to claim this back from HMRC. Please note if you do not pay any tax you will not receive tax relief.

If you choose to pay AVCs via salary sacrifice through your Employer, you will not receive tax relief monthly. You should contact your Employer for details on how salary sacrifice is applied.

If you would like to pay AVCs please complete the form on evoLink

The maximum amount you can pay in pension contributions and still receive tax relief is the lower value of your annual salary or the Annual Allowance.

Tax Relief

Crystal operates a ‘net-pay’ arrangement meaning that your contributions are taken out of your earnings before they are taxed.

As your contributions reduce the value of your earnings that are subject to tax, you receive the full amount of tax relief straight away via PAYE (unless you earn less than the tax threshold).

Your contributions do reduce the amount of your wages that are subject to National Insurance contributions.

For further information on Tax Relief please see your Member’s Guide or visit gov.uk

If you don’t pay tax you will not benefit from the tax relief a taxpayer will receive. You still need to pay the same minimum contributions to Crystal and you cannot claim any money

Your Annual Allowance is the most you can save in your pension pots in a tax year (6 April to 5 April) before you must pay tax.

You’ll only pay tax if you go above the Annual Allowance. This is £60,000 per annum this tax year (2023-2024).

If your ‘threshold’ income is more than £200,000 per annum or your ‘adjusted’ income is more than £260,000 per annum you will have a reduced or ‘tapered’ Annual Allowance.

For every £2 your adjusted income goes over £260,000 per annum, your Annual Allowance for the current tax year reduces by £1. The minimum reduced Annual Allowance you can have in the current tax year is £10,000.

Exciting news which will affect your Crystal pension

Contributions