Looking for some advice...

NannaH

A fixed rate of 5.5% on a lump sum of £3600 is better than the 7% FD reg saver.  I have both.  I’ve just taken the excess above £5k in my YB rainy day acc and put in in a Nat west fixed ISA.  

katejo

bigbeff said:

I don't really understand my teachers pension. I have currently got faster accruals set up... but I can also/alternately buy additional pension in £250 lumps... which will cost me about £2500 to increase my pension by £250. Its all a foreign language to me! Or I think I could buy additional voluntary contributions but I think they are separate. 

I am on a similar university pension scheme. I am older than you and I paid AVC's until my 60th birthday when I couldn't continue because the legislation relating to AVC's changed in 2006. Employers no longer have to provide them so now there is only the added pension scheme with monthly instalments which isn't as good value (another MSE member told me about this). I can post you  a link to their explanation if you want. I did the maths with a bit of help from SAUL (my pension scheme) and think that I may pay in a lump sum to make up for me dropping to 4 days a week very soon.