Choosing when to retire is an important decision. You need to think about what kind of income you will need to make the right choice for your individual circumstances and proposed lifestyle throughout your retirement.
There is no longer a fixed age when you have to retire, but when you choose to retire will have an impact on the benefits you receive.
We will send you a statement of your Pension Account and your retirement options shortly before your planned retirement date. If you plan to retire before Normal Retirement Date you must give the Company as much notice as possible about when you want to retire.
Retirement at Normal Retirement Date (NRD)
The Normal Retirement Date (NRD) for all members in the Scheme is 65. We will write to you about 6 months before your 65th birthday with details of the value of your fund and the options available to you.
Early Retirement
You can apply to take your retirement benefits from the minimum retirement age, currently 55 but increasing to 57 from 6 April 2028. This is the current minimum retirement age set by the Government. If you are suffering from ill health that means you are unable to work, you may be able to apply to take your benefits before the age of 55.
Late retirement
You may wish to delay your retirement until after your NRD. You are only able to continue paying contributions up to the age of 75 at which time you will become a deferred member, even if you are still employed.
If you were to die over the age of 75 and before taking your benefits, HMRC would levy a tax charge, which is currently 55% of the value of your Pension Account. This charge would be deducted from the Account before any benefits are paid to your dependants. Therefore, we would encourage you to consider taking your benefits before you reach age 75.
If you do wish to leave your benefits until after the age of 65, it's important that you review your investments to ensure that they are still appropriate for the age that you wish to retire. This is particularly important if you are invested in the Target Date Fund applicable for your 65th birthday.
Flexible retirement
You may apply for Company consent to continue working at the same time as drawing your pension. This option is designed to help people who wish to ease into retirement by moving to a part-time or reduced role, without a significant effect on their personal finances.
If you do take Flexible Retirement, you can apply to rejoin the Scheme and start paying contributions into a new Pension Account to build up future pension benefits and maintain your life assurance cover. You will join the Scheme on the new contribution rates which came into effect from February 2013, please click here for more details.
Life cover will only be maintained if you rejoin the Scheme immediately; in other circumstances you will be asked to complete a medical declaration and your life assurance benefit may be restricted. If you decide not to rejoin the Scheme, then you will no longer be covered for the Death in Service or Ill Health Retirement benefits.