Assumptions

The estimated pension amounts from Afterwork and the BPSP are based on a set of assumptions about the future, which may not be borne out in practice. If you choose to buy a lifetime annuity with your retirement savings, the actual pension you receive will depend on actual investment returns on the funds that you choose between now and retirement, and on annuity rates at retirement. The pension figures shown in the calculator are not guaranteed and are for illustration purposes only. Before making any decision to leave Afterwork, you should consider consulting an impartial financial adviser.

For employees based in Guernsey, Jersey or Isle of Man please note that the tax and National Insurance rates applied are UK specific. This means that the displayed costs and the pension illustration will not be correct in these jurisdictions. If you are subject to Scottish tax then your monthly costs may also differ from those shown.

Please note that the Afterwork pension illustration produced by this calculator will differ from the illustration in your Afterwork benefit statement, and in the Retirement Planner on the ePA pensions website. This is due to differences in the assumptions used. For instance, different pension increases in payment are used, and the calculator uses approximate unisex factors whilst the statement uses gender specific factors. Your statement and the Retirement Planner also use investment return assumptions that are specific to your fund choice, whilst the calculator does not look at your fund choices and instead uses investment return assumptions chosen by you.

General assumptions used in the modeller

The assumptions used to estimate your pension benefits are consistent with the Statutory Money Purchase Illustration (SMPI) basis, which has been set by the Government. This basis is assumed to apply from now until the time of your retirement, and is summarised below:

Inflation rate: 2.5% a year

Salary growth: 2.5% a year

Your current salary is used as the starting value for the calculator, which is then increased each year by the assumed salary growth level of 2.5% in the calculation of both your Afterwork and BPSP estimated pension figures. It is assumed that salary increases are applied in April each year.

The pension projections provided by the calculator are based on your chosen target retirement age and how long you think you will stay working at Barclays. Please note that Afterwork projections are also based on early retirement factors in effect at December 2022. Early retirement factors change on a monthly basis; as such the model may provide different figures from a quotation provided by WTW.

Pension benefits

The calculations assume that you will purchase an annuity which does not increase in payment.

Expenses of 4% are deducted from the value of your account at retirement to cover the expected costs charged by insurance companies.

You may elect to provide benefits to anyone in the event of your death after retirement. However, for simplicity the modeller assumes that you are providing a 50% spouse's pension to someone of the opposite sex and who is the same age as you.

Tax allowances

The pension projections do not allow for Income Tax, which will be payable if your income is above the personal allowance in force at retirement.

If you have made sufficient UK National Insurance contributions, then you will also be entitled to receive a State Pension.

The Lifetime Allowance (LTA) is £1,073,100 for the 2023/24 tax year and more information can be found on the HMRC website. If your pension benefits are in excess of the LTA, whether from Barclays or any other source, you may be liable for additional tax charges. No allowance has been made in the modeller for any benefits in excess of the LTA or benefits payable from other schemes.

The standard Annual Allowance (AA) for the 2023/24 tax year is £40,000 and more information can be found on the HMRC website. This is the maximum increase in retirement savings that can be built up in the tax year by you (after taking account of any unused Annual Allowance carried forward from the previous three tax years), whether in a Barclays scheme or any other approved pension scheme, without incurring an additional tax charge. No allowance has been made in the modeller for any benefit accrual in excess of the Annual Allowance. Your own personal Annual Allowance may be less than £40,000 if you have total taxable income of £200,000 a year or more (the minimum personal Annual Allowance is currently £4,000).

Contributions

Tax thresholds, rates and personal allowances are based on the UK figures for the 2023/24 tax year and can be found on the HMRC website.

For the purposes of calculating tax savings on contributions, it is assumed that you have no taxable income in addition to your salary, and that you are entitled to the standard Annual Allowance of £40,000. It is also assumed that your tax code entitles you to the 'standard' personal allowance.

Please remember when you are comparing Afterwork to BPSP that you should also consider the death and ill-health benefits that are associated with each plan. More detail on these is provided in the Read about the plans section on the Your Pension Journey website.

Investments

The calculations assume that the value of your Investment Account and BPSP account will increase in line with the investment return assumption that you select. As you approach retirement, the calculator also assumes that you will gradually switch to lower-risk investments, which can give lower returns.

Internal Earnings Cap

An Internal Earnings Cap of £125,000 p.a. is assumed to apply for all members. However, if you joined Afterwork before 1 June 1989 then you may not be subject to this cap and therefore the modeller may underestimate your benefits.