The sadder relatives of AVCs. These private pension 'add-ons' are often very poor value, have very high charges and are increasingly the subject of pension mis-selling proceedings.

Payments made by an employee to a private scheme separate to a company scheme. They are also commonly known as FSAVCs. The rules regarding maximum contributions are slightly different to those for standard personal pension schemes.

If you are in an employer's pension scheme you can make extra pension contributions, called additional voluntary contributions. These may be made into your employer's scheme, or into a separate pension scheme of your choice. Contributions to your own scheme are called freestanding additional voluntary contributions. Sometimes referred to using the acronym (FSAVC).