Common questions

The DC Top-up Section is a Trust Based Pension administered by Standard Life Assurance Limited that allows you to make additional contributions based on your Top up salary (once your basic salary is higher than your pensionable salary the difference is known as the Top up salary) to help you bridge the gap between what you expect to receive from your main company pension, and what you need to attain the type of lifestyle you want in retirement.

Centrica Pension Plan Trustees Limited is Trustee of the Centrica Pension Plan Savings Section.

Centrica Pension Trustees Limited is Trustee of the Centrica Savings Plan.

The Trustee is responsible for:

• Running the company pension in line with current law and the trust deed and rules
• Looking after the members’ interests.

Find out more about Standard Life 

There are a range of charges on your pension plan.

Find out more about the charges

You are eligible to join the DC Top-up Section if under your main Centrica pension arrangement you are a member of either CRIS or the Centrica Pension Plan and have been impacted by the Pensionable Salary cap (this may be the Pensionable Earnings cap or Pensionable Pay cap depending on your main Centrica pension arrangement salary definition). The Pensionable Salary cap restricts pensionable salary increases to 0% if your Pensionable Salary is £38,000 or above. Broadly speaking, once your basic salary is higher than your pensionable salary the difference is known as the Top-up salary.

You can build up pension savings based on your Top-up salary in the DC Top-up Section.  Centrica have offered this option to ensure that, as a general rule, all of members' basic salary is potentially pensionable in some form.

As a member of your DC Top-up Section you are able to choose what percentage of your Top-up salary you want to contribute. Centrica pay an additional amount on top of your contributions up to a maximum of 10% as set out in the How payments are made section. You are able to pay contributions of more than 5% of Top-up Salary if you wish, however, those extra contributions would not attract any further contributions from Centrica.

If you are eligible to join DC Top-up Section please join online through MyPension Hub (Workday - External Benefits).

Once you join the DC Top-up Section you can opt out at any time online through MyPension Hub (Workday - External Benefits).

The payments that have already been made into your plan will remain invested until you retire.

How much you pay in is up to you. There are maximum amounts you can pay in without a tax-charge.

Find out more about the maximum amounts (PDF, 145KB)

You can change the amount you're paying via MyPension Hub, which you can be accessed directly from Workday - External Benefits.

You can find out more about payments here

Because your pension is set up to help you save for retirement, you normally can’t access any of your pension savings until you turn 55 (may be subject to change).

Find out more about how you can take your retirement income

You may be able to take flexible income, guaranteed income, cash or a combination of these. The Trustee will decide what options are available to you from this plan, you may have to transfer to a new plan to take advantage of some options.

More about turning your pension savings into income.

We recommend you seek appropriate guidance or advice. See the question below for more details.

Access to impartial guidance

We recommend you seek appropriate guidance or advice to understand your options at retirement. You can get free guidance over the phone or face to face with Pensionwise.

Go to www.pensionwise.gov.uk or call 0800 138 3944.

The Money Advice Service (MAS) guide is also available on the Pensionwise site.

There are investment options available to you - and it’s worth taking the time to find out about them.

And even when you’ve made choices, they’re not set in stone - you can review your investments and make changes if you want to.

Find out more about changing your investments

Choosing investment options doesn’t have to be complicated – there are options to suit all levels of knowledge and to match the level of involvement you want.

Your investment options

Regardless of why you leave, your pension is yours for life. You can’t keep making payments into it if you change jobs but you may be able to combine it with a new pension from your new employer. Transferring isn't right for everyone.

Please refer to the 'What happens if I leave Centrica before I retire? section of your Centrica additional retirement savings booklet (PDF, 1MB) for further details about your options and benefit entitlement.

When you die, any pot which remains invested can be passed on. Who receives it is at the discretion of the Trustees. You can let the Trustees know who you would like to be paid by completing an expression of wish form online via Mercer OneView which can be directly accessed through MyPension Hub.

For more information download the Information about tax relief, limits and your pension (PDF 145KB) guide.

If you die after you retire, your dependents may be able to continue to receive money from your pension. This will depend on how you set your retirement income up.

From the age of 55 (may be subject to change) you can normally take some or all of your pension – even if you’re still working. And you have several options about how you turn your pension savings into income.

If you have health issues though, you may be able to take your pension early.

You may be able to take up to 100% of your DC Top-up Section as a tax free lump sum when you retire.

With the balance of your DC Top-up Section after you take a lump sum, you can buy an income to live on in retirement.

You may be able to take flexible income or guaranteed income as well as cash. You may have to transfer to a new plan to take advantage of some options - and you can shop around to find the right plan for you.

More about turning your pension savings into income.

We recommend you seek appropriate guidance or advice. See the question below for more details.

Access to impartial guidance

We recommend you seek appropriate guidance or advice to understand your options at retirement. You can get free guidance over the phone or face to face with Pensionwise.

Go to www.pensionwise.gov.uk or call 0800 138 3944.

The Money Advice Service (MAS) guide is also available on the Pensionwise site.

You can find this easily by logging on to MyPension Hub. The value of your pension is also shown on your annual statement.

If you are no longer employed by Centrica please register for online servicing to access your personal account by clicking the link below.

Log in to online servicing

Find out more about managing your pension online

You can find a projection of what your pension might be worth by logging in to MyPension Hub which can be accessed directly through Workday - External Benefits. You can also find this on your most recent pension statement.

It might also help to have an idea of how much you might need to retire. You can use this handy tool to pick the things you might like to do in retirement and work out how much it might all cost.

If you have more than one pension, you can see what they all add up to by using the retirement planner. The retirement planner can also give you an idea of what your pension could be worth, and show you how increasing your payments now can make a big difference when you retire.