Making Free Standing Additional Voluntary Contributions (FSAVCs)

A Free-Standing Additional Voluntary Contribution (FSAVC) scheme is a form of Additional Voluntary Contribution (AVC), where payments are made to an external provider, rather than through the employer's scheme.

Free-standing AVCs provide members of an occupational pension scheme to choose the investment medium and provider, and also gives them the opportunity to carry on contributing even if there is a change of employer or change of the main scheme. However, contributions to a free-standing AVC scheme can only be made by members of an occupational pension scheme; if a member leaves their occupational pension scheme and does not join a new one, they must stop their FSAVC payments.

Free-standing AVCs are typically more expensive to set up and run than 'in house' AVCs as they do not have the sponsorship of the employer.