Contributing to your PensionBee pension is straightforward. Go to the ‘Funds’ tab in your mobile app or ‘Contributions’ tab when logging in through a web browser to get started. Then, select the type of contribution you want to make - personal, limited company, or employer contribution - and fill out a short online form. You can choose to make monthly or one-time contributions using Easy bank transfer or standing order. Contributing to your PensionBee pension is flexible and you can contribute as much or as little as you like, as often as you like.
You can make pension contributions from your personal, business, or joint bank account. However, with contributions from joint bank accounts your bank shouldn’t require more than one signature for this. If it does, you can still contribute by setting up an Easy bank transfer. Please contact your dedicated account manager (known as your “BeeKeeper”) if you need more information.
It’s free to make contributions into your pension and there are no minimum contribution amounts. Simply follow the instructions on-screen when making a contribution. If you’re still feeling unsure, you can watch our step-by-step guide on ‘How to make an Easy bank transfer‘ on YouTube.
We don’t offer a workplace pension scheme so we can’t be used by businesses for Auto-Enrolment.
For the 2025/26 tax year, the tax-free annual limit is 100% of your salary or £60,000 (whichever is lower). This includes both contributions paid by you and contributions paid by your employer. If you put more than this into your pension, you won’t receive tax relief on any amount over the contribution limit.
If you earn less than £3,600, or you don’t earn anything at all, you’re still allowed to receive tax relief on pension contributions up to £3,600 gross. That means you can save up to £2,880 net plus a 25% tax top up from HMRC.
Recently, a tapered allowance has been introduced for higher and additional rate earners. It mainly affects people who earn over £200,000, and we’ve detailed the rates on our pension tax relief page.
If you exceed the limit, you’ll be eligible to pay tax on any amount over the contribution limit. This is called an ‘annual allowance charge’, and it’ll be added to the rest of your taxable income for the year when your tax liability is calculated.
Alternatively, you may be able to ask your pension provider to pay the charge from your pension benefits. In some situations, you may be able to reduce the charge by bringing forward some of your unused annual allowance from previous years.
If you use up all of your annual allowance in one year, it’s possible to contribute more to your pension with unused allowances from previous years and still receive tax relief. You can carry forward unused annual allowances from the three previous tax years, starting with the earliest which would currently be 2022/23. Claiming tax relief on pension contributions for previous years is relatively straightforward as long as you were a member of a pension during that time.
One of the key pension annual allowance carry forward rules is that you can’t receive tax relief on contributions in excess of your earnings in any tax year. For example if a person earns £80,000 in a tax year, they can only contribute up to £80,000 to their pension that tax year. No matter how much unused allowance they have remaining from the previous three years, they can only bring forward £20,000 so that their pension contributions equal their annual salary.
Pensions are a tax-efficient product for retirement saving. For the 2025/26 tax year, most eligible savers can get tax relief on pension contributions up to £60,000 or 100% of their salary (whichever’s lower). Contributions over this limit are taxed at the highest rate of tax you pay.
If you’re making a personal contribution and you’re eligible for tax relief, you’ll also receive a 25% tax top-up. For every £100 you put into your PensionBee pension, the government will add another £25 making it £125. We’ll automatically claim your 25% tax top up and add it to your balance.
PensionBee only accepts personal contributions that are eligible for tax relief. If you’re a higher or additional rate taxpayer, you can usually claim back extra tax relief through Self-Assessment or by contacting HMRC directly.
How long it takes to process your contribution differs, depending on whether you set up an Easy bank transfer or a standing order. Once money clears in our bank account, your contribution will show as a ‘Personal contribution’ in the balance tab in your online account (known as your “BeeHive”).
When using Easy bank transfer, your funds will typically arrive instantly though could take longer in some instances. It’ll take up to five working days for our money managers to invest your funds into your pension.
Depending on your bank, setting up a regular bank transfer can take different amounts of time. Once the payment has left your account, it can take around eight working days for your funds to show as ‘live’ in your account. This includes the time taken for your funds to arrive in our account and be reconciled which is two to three working days, plus five working days for our money managers to invest your funds into your pension.
If you’re a sole trader, you can only make a personal contribution. If you’re the director of a limited company, you can make limited company contributions into your pension, as well as personal contributions, via your online account (known as your “BeeHive”).
If you’re making a limited company contribution, the money needs to come from your business account. If you want to make a personal contribution, the payment needs to come from your personal account.
IR35 is a complex bit of legislation that determines a contractor’s tax liabilities. The amount of tax you need to pay on pension contributions doesn’t change if you’re inside IR35. The £60,000 annual pension allowance is unaffected. If you find that your take-home income decreases as a result of IR35, you may be able to minimise your tax liabilities by increasing your pension contributions.
To make changes or cancel your contribution, you’ll need to edit your contribution in your own banking app. If you have a Direct Debit or Standing Order set up and would like to change it, it’s likely you’ll need to cancel it and start a new one. If you cancel your contribution, you’ll also need to log into your online account (known as your “BeeHive”) afterwards to confirm you’ve cancelled it. Once a payment has been paid into your pension, it can’t be refunded due to HMRC rules.
If you want to amend the amount or regularity of your contribution, you can do so without informing us. If you’re still feeling unsure, you can watch our step-by-step guide on ‘How to change an existing contribution‘ on YouTube.