UK bank Abbey National has launched a new Group Additional Voluntary Contribution (AVC) pension scheme, available to employers online.
All companies in the UK offering an occupational pension scheme are required by law to provide an AVC scheme for employees.
Abbey's new Web-based AVC scheme can be run alongside a stakeholder pension scheme, allowing payroll staff to access and update AVC records online, amend contributions levels and keep track of employee contributions. A member of the bank's payroll implementation team will also visit an employer and train staff in setting up the payroll facitilty.
Steve Conley, Abbey National's group pensions manager, says: "We can now help an employer administer both their stakeholder pensions and AVC scheme with a single provider, minimising administration time".
Employees in an occupational pension plan can choose to top up their pension through AVCs, which can be used to purchase an additional pension at retirement. The new scheme allows employees a choice of investing their contributions in either a deposit fund or a range of stocks and shares funds.