A key part of your retirement planning is knowing how much your pension is worth and what you need to consider when you submit your retirement request.
A pension for life
Your benefits give you a pension for life, based on:
- your Final Pensionable Salary (your salary near the date you retire or stop paying into the Scheme), and
- your Pensionable Service (when you were paying into the Scheme).
If you’ve worked part time at any point, you’ll be treated as if your Final Pensionable Salary was what you’d have earned if you were full time, but your Pensionable Service will be reduced based on your part-time hours.
Please contact the Scheme Administrators for more information about your benefits if you’ve worked part time.
A cash lump sum
You can normally take up to 25% of your total pension benefits as a cash lump sum. This lump sum will be paid free of tax.
In most sections, choosing this option means you give up part of your pension – so your monthly pension in retirement will be smaller. This won’t affect pensions paid to your dependants in the future as these are worked out from your total pension before taking cash.
Depending on which section you’re in, you may be able to take any Additional Voluntary Contributions (AVCs) you’ve paid as part or all of your cash lump sum, instead of reducing your pension.
Check the Whenever you choose to retire section your member guide to find out what the options are for taking your benefits.
Things to think about
Do you want to take a cash lump sum? If so, how much cash do you want to take?
- Taking a cash lump sum is likely to make your pension smaller, unless you have AVCs you can use for the cash.
- On the other hand, the cash lump sum is tax free whereas your monthly pension will be taxed as income. This is one of the few times in life you can receive a large sum of money without it being liable for tax.
Check your member guide to find out what your options are when it comes to cash lump sums.
What does your spouse or partner receive when you die?
In most cases, the Scheme will pay a pension to your spouse or civil partner. The amounts of these depend on which section of the Scheme you’re in.
What if you don’t have a spouse or partner?
The Trustees can decide to pay a pension to anyone who was financially dependent on you when you died. The Trustees will decide the size of the pension and how long it will be paid for.
What about children?
If you have children, they may qualify for children’s pensions after your death. This depends on which section of the Scheme you are in.
Check who you’ve named to get benefits when you die
While you’re planning for retirement, it’s a good idea to check your beneficiary nomination – that is the people you have named to receive any benefits payable when you die. Log in to Benpal and go to My account> Personal details> Add beneficiaries. Or, ask the Scheme Administrators for a Nomination of Beneficiaries form.
Go to Benefits payable after your death for more about the benefits that are paid if you die.
Check your member guide for more details about the benefits from your section.