You can buy up to £5000 of extra annual pension. Extra pension is bought in blocks of £250 - you decide how many multiples of £250 you wish to buy at a time.

You can spread the cost by deciding over how many years you wish to pay. As contracts must be completed by age 65, the maximum length of your contract will depend on how many years you've got to go before you are 65. The longer you pay, the smaller the monthly contribution will be.

As well as buying extra pension for yourself, you can choose to pay a bit extra and buy cover for your dependants as well.

If you don't finish paying because you retire for ill health reasons, your extra pension would be paid in full. For this reason you must see a doctor for a health check before you start paying.

Your extra pension is guaranteed - it doesn't depend on the "ups and downs" of investments.

Extra pension is fully inflation proofed, both before you retire and when you start to receive your pension.

Your employer will deduct these extra contributions from your salary, and these will attract tax relief if you pay tax.