How payments are made

It’s important to note that you already make payments into your existing Centrica pension arrangement.

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). If you are unsure if you are eligible to join the DC Top-up section, you can visit MyPension Hub (Workday - External Benefits) and check the My Contributions page.

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.

If you are eligible, you can join the DC Top-up section via MyPension Hub (Workday - External Benefits).

How much could you pay?

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 table below. 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.

Choice of Smart Pay reduction	What Centrica add (as % of your Top-up salary)	Total into the plan (as % of your Top-up Salary)
3%	6%	9%
4%	8%	12%
5%	10%	15%
5%+	10%	15%+

There is a maximum amount that can be paid into a pension every year. If you exceed the Annual Allowance then a tax charge may apply. The Information about tax relief, limits and your pension leaflet (PDF, 190KB) covers this in detail.

Any payments you make to other registered defined contribution pension arrangements (including employer payments) and any other increases in the amounts attributable to you under registered defined benefit pension arrangements that you're an active member of will be included in this amount.

How are payments made?

The way that you make payments into your pension is either through SMART Pay or by deduction from salary. Both give you tax benefits, but work in different ways. You can find out more about each option from the information below.

Please note: you are only able to make DC Top-up Section contributions by SMART Pay if you are already using this method for your main pension contributions.

Laws and tax rules may change in the future. The information here is based on our understanding in April 2022. An individuals own circumstances also have an impact on tax treatment.

SMART Pay

What are the benefits?

The same amount will be paid into your pension as would be the case if you weren't using SMART Pay.
You'll save on National Insurance (NI) contributions.

How does it work?

SMART Pay works like this:

You agree that you will receive a lower salary in return for an employer contribution to your DC Top-up Section. That contribution will be equivalent to the member contribution you would have paid.
Centrica adds its extra contribution
They put the total amount in your pension

What does this mean for you?

Let's assume your Top-up salary is £5,000. You pay 5% of your Top-up salary as a pension contribution. But instead of paying £250 into your pension as a member contribution, you exchange £250 of your gross salary. Because you pay less NI on your reduced salary, your take home pay is higher.

Remember these figures are an example. How salary exchange works for you will depend on your circumstances and any future changes in NI rules. Tax rules and limits may change in the future. The information here is based on our pension experts' understanding of the current situation.

Are there any disadvantages?

SMART Pay isn't right for some people. There may be some impact on state earnings related benefits, other company benefits or your ability to borrow.

If you'd like more information, contact the SMART Pay and Pensions helpline at Centrica People Services. If you're not sure whether SMART Pay is right for you seek financial advice.

Opting Out

If you wish to opt out of SMART Pay, contact Centrica People Services. Please be aware that if you opt out you will not benefit from reduced National Insurance contributions.

When you opt out of SMART Pay, you will make your contributions by deduction from your salary. See below for more information on how it works.

Deduction from salary

Your payments will be deducted from your salary before you're taxed, which means you’ll pay Income Tax on a lower amount. It also means that your personal tax rate position is taken into account immediately.

For example, if you're a basic rate taxpayer and you want to make payments of £100 a month, £100 is taken from your salary before your tax liability is calculated. You can normally expect to pay £20 less in tax as a result, although the tax benefit could vary depending on your personal circumstances.

Your own circumstances also have an impact on tax treatment.Laws and tax rules may change in the future. The information here is based on our understanding in April 2022 and assumes that you are a UK resident paying UK tax. Your own circumstances - including where you live - can have an impact on tax treatment. Find out more about how tax levels can vary on gov.uk.

Contribution options

Check or change your payments

Important documents

To help you make an informed decision we've provided you with important information that you should read. You should print or save copies of these documents for future reference.

Read this guide for more information on the DC Top-up Section. Please note, due to recent investment changes a new guide will be available in early 2018.

Centrica additional retirement savings booklet (PDF, 1MB)

Read this guide for more information on the different ways you can pay into your pension, and the tax benefits and tax charges which can apply.

Information about tax relief, limits and your pension (PDF, 190KB)

Please access Mercer OneView via MyPension Hub (Workday - External Benefits) to nominate or update your beneficiaries online.

Read this guide if you are thinking about buying an annuity.

The Open Market Annuity Service Limited (PDF, 146KB)

These documents have been provided by the Trustee of the Centrica Savings Plan and Centrica Pensions Plan Saving Section - Standard Life is not responsible for the content.