Teachers AVC

zagubov

AVCs with the Pru may not be the best source of pension money. You need to investigate further

With self-assessment, you need to spend £100s on an accountant, so you'd have to be sure you'd save more than that.

If anyone thinks that teachers have oodles of time and energy to micromanage their finances enough to file a tax return, bake their own bread, drill their own teeth, build their own cars from sheet metal etc., they've not remotely grasped how demanding the job is and I'd fear for their pupils in such a fantasy world.

Sobraon

I am in the TPS and my wife is in the LGPS. My wife makes AVC contributions to the Pru precisely because the way the two schemes are linked allowing the flexibility in PCLS already described.

I make TPS AVCs to the TPS (AP procedure) but I also make additional contributions to a Hargreaves Lansdown SIPP partly because of the drawdown costs but also the HP SIPP product in general ( Mrs S also has one of these).

We remain PAYE and have not been required to undertake tax self assessment. Once a year we write to the tax office saying we are making SIPP contributions using as a template a letter on the HL site and that is all that is required to get the 40% tax relief. For the SIPP the basic rate tax relief is automatic

Fermion

We remain PAYE and have not been required to undertake tax self assessment. Once a year we write to the tax office saying we are making SIPP contributions using as a template a letter on the HL site and that is all that is required to get the 40% tax relief. For the SIPP the basic rate tax relief is automatic

We used to write to HMRC in the same way but HMRC suggested setting up Personal Tax Accounts online to quickly update the information and Tax Codes. Works very well - saves a lot of time hanging on the phone line to HMRC and using their awful voice recognition software!

greenglide

zagubov wrote: »

With self-assessment, you need to spend £100s on an accountant, so you'd have to be sure you'd save more than that.

No you dont "need to".

The online self assessment process is a straightforward process. Normally giving the documentation to an accountant and explaining what it is will take longer the just filling the form yourself.

We are talking about teachers here, not self employed people who need accounts produced.

jem16

zagubov wrote: »

If anyone thinks that teachers have oodles of time and energy to micromanage their finances enough to file a tax return, bake their own bread, drill their own teeth, build their own cars from sheet metal etc., they've not remotely grasped how demanding the job is and I'd fear for their pupils in such a fantasy world.

I'm a teacher, although now retired for 2 years, and have completed a tax return online for the last 15 years. Nothing onerous about it all and I have never needed an accountant. Very easy to do and made sure my tax was correct.

In fact when it came to it claiming for the lump sum payment to my pension just before retiral was made all the easier because I was completing a tax return.