Your retirement journey
The Fund’s Normal Retirement Age is 65. This is the age you would normally start to receive your DB Section pension, but you can choose to take it earlier or later – or even transfer your benefits out of the Fund to give yourself more flexibility if that’s important to you.
You will automatically receive a retirement pack as you approach your Normal Retirement Age (65 for most members).
When you retire, you may have the opportunity to exchange up to 25% of the value of your pension from the DB Section as tax-free cash*. This amount includes any AVCs you may have invested, or any contributions made via Bonus Choice.
The actual calculation of your maximum tax-free cash is complex. You’ll receive a retirement pack from the DB Section administrator, Willis Towers Watson (WTW), as you approach retirement, setting out how much this could be.
*The amount of tax-free cash available is restricted by the Lump Sum Allowance (LSA), which sets a limit of £268,275, unless you have previously applied to HMRC for LTA protection (in which case a higher limit may apply).
You have the option to take your pension earlier than 65*. The earliest age you can normally access your pension is currently 55, but please note this is going up to 57 from 6 April 2028. (Depending on when you joined the Fund, you may be protected against this change and may still be entitled to access your benefits before age 57 after 6 April 2028. If you are unsure, contact WTW.)
If you take your pension early, it will be reduced to take account of the longer period over which it will be paid. The size of the reduction will depend on your age when you take it. You can contact WTW to find out how much of a reduction would apply to you.
If you retire early, it won’t affect the amount paid to your spouse or partner as a pension on your death. Their pension would be based on the pension you would have received had no early retirement reduction been applied and before any part of your pension was exchanged for cash.
* If you are female and left service before 1 December 1990, your Normal Retirement Age is age 60.
The bridging pension option is open to anyone taking their pension from the Scheme before their State Pension Age (SPA). This enables members to receive a higher pension from the Fund until they can start to claim their State Pension. They then receive a smaller pension from the Fund afterwards. The overall effect is that you have a smoother total pension income during retirement.
The size of the reduction in your Fund pension at SPA will depend on your age when you retire, the pension increases that apply to your pension and wider financial conditions and mortality assumptions.
It’s also important to note that the reduction in your Fund pension is for the rest of your life. It’s therefore possible that you may ‘give up’ more total pension income after your SPA than the extra pension income you receive before SPA; this depends on how long you live.
The increased pension payable under this option counts towards the Annual Allowance. There are extra tax implications if you exceed this allowance. You can find out more here.
Your higher income might also affect any entitlement you may have to other State benefits, and you also need to consider how you’d manage financially on a lower Fund pension if you need to pay for care as you get older.
If you’re eligible for this option, you’ll receive full details in the run-up to your retirement
About your State Pension
You can check your State Pension here. This website will also tell you when you can start to claim your State Pension.
Someone retiring today at age 60 will need to wait until 67 to claim their State Pension – as would someone who reaches the minimum retirement age of 55 in 2023.
| Date of birth | State Pension Age |
| 6 March 1961 – 5 April 1977 | 67 |
| 6 April 1977 – 5 April 1978 | Between 67 and 68 |
| On or after 6 April 1978 | 68 |
When you reach retirement, you can either:
- Take all your additional voluntary contributions (AVCs) as tax-free cash, as long as this is no more than your tax-free cash entitlement in respect of your membership of the DB Section of the Fund.
Or
- Buy a pension for yourself (or for yourself and a partner – on a joint-life basis). The amount of pension you can buy depends on several factors, including the amount of additional contributions you have paid in, the performance of your investments less any charges, your age when you access your benefits, the type of pension required and the cost of buying a pension. The pension is taxed as income when it is paid.
Or
- A combination of the above options.
Or
- Transfer your extra pension savings out of the Fund to a different pension scheme that may provide other options, such as drawdown. You should take into account any costs that may be incurred in transferring your benefits.
You can contact WTW to understand your options for taking AVCs and Bonus Choice contributions.
As a deferred member, you have a statutory right to transfer the value of your benefits out of the Fund at any time up until one year before your Normal Retirement Age. A transfer would enable you to access pensions flexibilities, which are available from Defined Contribution pension funds, such as:
- Taking the full value of your benefits as cash.
Or
- Buying a pension for yourself (or for yourself and a partner – on a joint-life basis). This option might appeal if you are in poor health, as the external provider might offer you a higher pension than the Fund does, or if you have any other particular circumstances where a tailored pension would suit you better.
Or
- Setting up a drawdown account, where you leave the money invested and draw an income from it as and when you need. This option might appeal to someone who wants to leave the balance of their benefits to their loved ones on death as cash.
Or
- A combination of the above options.
If you want to transfer your benefits, please contact WTW to request a transfer quote. Please note, you can only request one transfer quote in a 12-month period. You may be charged for a second or subsequent quote.
The amount of the transfer payment can vary from time to time, but it will be guaranteed for a period of three months from the effective date on which it is calculated.
If you have any additional voluntary contributions (AVCs), you may also transfer them to another provider at any time.
Please be alert to the risk of pension scams when transferring money out of the Fund. Scammers might claim they can help you access your money before age 55, or they might promise you very high ‘guaranteed’ investment returns.
To help protect pension savers, the Pensions Regulator has introduced a new step in the transfer process, which means the DB Section administrator, WTW, must review your transfer request and raise a red or amber flag if they notice something suspicious. An amber flag means you must attend a guidance session with MoneyHelper, a Government service run by MoneyHelper, before the transfer can take place, but a red flag means the Trustee can stop the transfer.
Find out more on how to avoid a pension scam here.
We strongly recommend that you take independent financial advice before transferring your benefits out of the Fund. An adviser will be able to help you understand whether the decision to transfer is in your best interests. For example, depending on when you joined the Fund, you might have some special features (such as the option to retire at age 50) that you would lose if you transferred your benefits out of the Fund.
If the value of your benefits exceeds £30,000, you are required under legislation to take advice if you’re transferring to a Defined Contribution arrangement.
You can find an adviser in your area by searching MoneyHelper’s online directory.