Financial wellbeing support

As an employee, you are normally automatically enrolled in the Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS) managed by Essex Pension Fund.

As a member of the LGPS, you benefit from:

• access to My Money Matters (previously known as AVC Wise), where you can get help with retirement planning and making smarter financial choices
• the option of paying additional contributions into a Shared Cost Additional Voluntary Contribution (Shared Cost AVC) fund

AVC Wise has expanded its services and will now be known as My Money Matters.

My Money Matters

Take care of your financial health by visiting the My Money Matters website.

On entry to My Money Matters, you will be asked to complete a financial health check, covering the areas of savings and investments, insurance, retirement and estate planning and debt and money management. 

From there, you will get a personalised assessment of where you score in these areas, and will be recommended financial education, products, and services to help you make more informed financial decisions.

It’s completely free for you to use.

Shared Cost Additional Voluntary Contributions (AVC)

The Shared Cost AVC is a fund managed through My Money Matters, not the LGPS. The additional contributions are taken directly from your salary through salary sacrifice. This means that you save money on income tax and national insurance contributions, making this a tax efficient way of saving towards your retirement.     

Benefits include:

• potentially 100% tax free withdrawal at retirement (depending on the combined value of other LGPS benefits)
• flexible access from age 55, allowing you to potentially retire early
• income tax and national insurance contributions relief

Find out more, attend a free webinar or access the Shared Cost AVC scheme for our LGPS members by visiting the My Money Matters website.

Using My Money Matters is an optional benefit offered by the council. Shared Cost AVCs are available to active LGPS members only. You should consider affordability before making your Shared Cost AVC application. A Shared Cost AVC cannot be accessed until you have retired from your employment, which can be from age 55, rising to age 57 from 2028. Speak to an independent financial adviser if you require financial advice.  A pension is a long-term investment. The fund value may fluctuate and can go down. Your eventual income may depend upon the size of the fund at retirement, future interest rates and tax legislation.