The rate of pension contribution you pay is based on your actual pensionable pay. The Royal Borough of Greenwich assesses the rate of your contributions for each employment.

Part-time workers may benefit as the contribution band is based on actual salary (rather than the full-time equivalent as was the case before April 2014) meaning they are likely to be paying a lower contribution rate.

What pensionable pay is

Pensionable pay is the amount of pay on which you pay contributions. From 1 April 2014 it includes non contractual (as well as contractual) overtime and any additional hours worked in excess of contractual hours.

As pensionable pay will now include any additional hours or non-contractual overtime payments, the Royal Borough of Greenwich has recognised that this may fluctuate frequently from month to month.

In order that employees' contributions are kept in step with earnings, contribution bandings will be assessed monthly and this has significant advantages for employees.

For example, if your earnings increase significantly in one month due to non-contractual overtime earnings or other factors, your contribution rate will automatically increase for that month. It will fall back to the original level if your pay returns to its usual value.

Calculating the contribution banding monthly also means that if your pay increases significantly for another reason (for example, promotion or re-grading), your contribution banding will change automatically in the month that payroll apply the change. The same would apply should your pay decrease.

Contribution bandings for England and Wales