Who can pay into your pension

There are a few options

• Personal account — you can make a payment with your debit card or by Direct Debit.

• Business account — registered company directors or shareholders of limited companies with 25% or more control (Person with Significant Control - PSC) can make payments with a business account debit card.

• Another Vanguard account — anyone with a Vanguard account can pay into another Vanguard account. For example, a family member.

Director or shareholder of a limited company

If you’re a registered company director or shareholder of a limited company, you can make payments with your business account debit card. You need to pay in at least £500 when you open the pension. We do not accept Direct Debits from business accounts.

We will need to verify your company with Companies House. Make sure your details are up to date. This can take up to 10 working days. You can make 1 payment while your company is being verified. When that is complete, you can make additional payments. We reverify your company every year so please be aware that your payments may be limited during this time.

If there are any other directors or shareholders controlling 25% or more of the company, they must sign a declaration, so we can verify them. You will get the form when you open the pension. 

You can only have 1 company making employer contributions at any one time.

Payments from another Vanguard account

Other Vanguard account holders can pay into your pension. You will need their full name and Vanguard account number. We can only accept debit card payments.

In your online account go to Invest now and follow the steps. Select third party as the person paying in.

Once submitted, we'll send a payment request to their Vanguard account. They then log in to complete by debit card. It will take 1 working day for the payment to clear.

Third party contributions also receive tax relief and count towards your annual allowance. If you’re unsure what your annual allowance is, contact PensionWise or a financial advisor. 

Your employer cannot make payments to your Vanguard Personal Pension. Our pension is not a workplace pension. This includes umbrella companies and salary sacrifice arrangements.