Leaving Service

If you stop working for your employer, you are still entitled to any pension benefits you have built up as a contributing member. 

Types of benefit on leaving 

The type of benefit you receive depends on how long your pensionable service is and how old you are and when you joined the Fund. 

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Less than two years 

If your pensionable service is less than two years when you leave, you are entitled to a refund of your contributions. 

If your pensionable service is at least three months, you may, as an alternative, choose to retain a deferred pension under the Fund or transfer the value of your pension to another approved pension arrangement. 

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More than two years 

If your pensionable service is more than two years and you are under age 60 when you leave, you are entitled to a deferred pension or a transfer of the value of your pension to another approved pension arrangement. 

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Age 50 or over 

If you are over age 50 and your pensionable service is more than three months, you might be able to take a reduced pension for early retirement, members who joined the Fund after 5 April 2006 cannot draw their pension until they reach age 55. 

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Age 60 or over 

If you are aged 60 or more when you leave your pension is payable immediately with no reduction for early payment.  There is no option to defer your pension.  For more information on your retirement options, please see the retirement section of this website. 

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Deferred pensions 

If you are no longer employed by one of the participating employers but have chosen to leave your benefits in the Fund, your pension is known as a deferred pension. 

Your pension from the Fund is calculated based on your level of pensionable salary and the length of your pensionable service, the formula for calculating your pension is shown below.   

For existing members there is a deduction of £10.10 a year for pensionable service from 1 October 1993. 

You usually take your pension at age 60 but you might be able to take a reduced one from age 50 if you joined the Fund before 6 April 2006, otherwise the earliest you could claim your pension is age 55. There is more information about this in the retirement section of this website. 

You will need to ensure that you keep the Fund Office advised of your current address and contact us at least three months before you reach age 60. At that time, you will need to decide whether to claim your pension from age 60 or to defer it for at least six months and earn a bonus pension increase of 8% for each year it is deferred. This increase is in addition to annual pension increases which are also applied to your pension. Please note that if you do not elect to receive the bonus pension within 6 months of reaching age 60, this option will lapse. 

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Transferring out 

You can transfer the value of your pension benefits to another approved pension such as a: 

• New employer's scheme 
• Personal pension 
• Stakeholder pension 

You can choose to transfer at any time before you retire. 

The transfer value is the cash equivalent of your deferred pension. This amount will be paid to your new pension provider, who will advise you of the benefits you get by making the transfer. The amount paid is calculated by the Trustees on the advice of the Actuary. 

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Refund of contributions 

If you have less than two years' pensionable service, you can choose a refund of your own contributions. 

If you joined the Fund after 31 March 2010, and have less than three months' pensionable service, your only entitlement is a refund of your own contributions. 

As your contributions are deducted from your salary before tax has been taken, HM Revenue & Customs reclaims some of that tax at a special rate, currently 20%. This is also deducted from your refund of contributions. 

The employer's contributions cannot be refunded. 

Futher information can be found in our Guide for Leavers.