News for members of the Alstom UK Group Personal Pension (GPP) Plan with Aviva

It's decision time - your new investment options have arrived - Click here to view the announcement sent to GPP members in February 2015.



Latest Newsletter for GPP Members (Pension Focus Extra) - Click here to view the latest newsletter for GPP members, which was sent to members in December 2014.



Pension Focus Newsletter for GPP Members - October 2014 - Click here to view the newsletter for GPP members which was sent to members in October 2014.



Budget 2014 Update - From April 2015, radical changes to the rules on the use of members’ defined contribution (DC) pots at retirement are being proposed, with the twin aims of simplifying the pensions tax regime and giving individuals more choice and flexibility. With the aim of providing greater flexibility for DC members now, certain changes are being introduced with effect from 27 March 2014. No additional changes to the Annual Allowance or standard Lifetime Allowance have been announced. Click here to read more about the Treasury’s announcement.

Claiming Higher Rate Tax Relief for GPP Contributions - Are you receiving your full tax relief? If you are a higher rate tax payer you may need to take action to ensure that you receive the correct tax relief on your contributions. Click here to view the 'Claiming higher tax relief' guide produced in May 2013 for details, and click here to access an editable Word version of the letter templates explained in the guide. If you have previously contacted HMRC and requested an adjustment to your tax code to receive full tax relief on your contributions, then you need to notify HMRC to adjust your tax code if you are paying pension contributions by Salary Sacrifice – click here to access an editable Word version of a letter which you can use for this purpose. Please note that the HMRC tax office and reference for Transport and Renewable employees changed from April 2014, therefore if you are a Transport or Renewable employee and wish to use these letter(s) then you will need to amend them to include the correct HMRC address and reference, as communicated to you by Payroll.

Are you affected by the Annual Allowance? - On 6 April 2011 the Annual Allowance for tax relief on pensions savings into a registered pension scheme was reduced to £50,000. With effect from 6 April 2014, the Annual Allowance is being reduced again, to £40,000. HMRC has released an online tool so that pension scheme members can check whether they may be affected by an Annual Allowance charge and have to complete a tax return. Click here for details and to access the tool.

Thinking of transferring your pension? Be aware of 'Pension Liberation' fraud - Some companies are contacting members of pension schemes and claiming that they can help cash in their pension early. If a member agrees to this then they could face a tax bill of more than half their pension savings. This activity is known as ‘Pension Liberation' fraud and is on the increase in the UK. Although we are not aware of any GPP members being approached by these companies, it is important that members are aware of the potential risks, should the situation arise. Click here to view the Pensions Regulator's leaflet regarding Pension Liberation.