With the agreement of the Company, you can retire when you reach minimum pension age (currently 55 but increasing to 57 from 6 April 2028) as long as your early retirement pension at least equals the Guaranteed Minimum Pension (GMP) that is due to be paid from your GMP payment date.
Your early retirement pension is calculated using the same formula as for normal retirement benefits (please click here for more information) but using Final Pensionable Earnings and Pensionable Service to the date of your early retirement. If you retire before your Normal Retirement Date, the pension will still be paid for the rest of your life and will therefore be reduced to reflect the longer payment period.
The current early retirement reduction that will be applied for members who retire from active service is:
- 4% per annum compound from age 60 for service accrued to 5 April 2010
- 4% per annum compound from age 65 for service accrued from 6 April 2010
If you want to continue working and still take your pension, then this is called flexible retirement, please click here for more information.
Deferred members
If you leave the company or opt out of the Scheme and apply to take your benefits at a later date, then different early retirement reduction factors will apply.
The current reduction for deferred members is 5% per annum compound from age 65.