Retiring

Congratulations – you’re getting ready to retire! You’ve built up savings in the DC Section and you have to choose how you’d like to access them. This is an important decision, and we understand there’s a lot to think about, so we’ve made sure that extra support is available to help you.

Step one

Request a retirement quote from the Scheme administrator, EQ. You can do this via My account.

Step two

Get some financial guidance to help you understand your options and decide what’s right for you. Use your free Pension Wise appointment from MoneyHelper and take financial advice if you need more support.

Step three

Decide how you want to use your savings – see 'Your retirement choices' below

Step four

Research the market to choose a drawdown or annuity provider, if you’re using one of these options.

Step five

Complete the relevant forms from EQ to process your retirement choice.

Step six

Start enjoying your retirement.

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Be alert to the dangers of pension scams. Always check the companies you’re talking to are specifically authorised to deal with pensions and are listed on the FCA register.

Your retirement choices

Your savings in the DC Section are flexible, so you can access the money in the way that’s right for you. If you wish to, you can take up to 25% of your pension account as a tax-free cash lump sum (capped at £268,275), and then use the rest to provide a taxable retirement income. Whether you’re taking tax-free cash or not, your options are:

Reference Scheme Test

If you were a member of the DC Section before April 2016, your benefits will be subject to the Reference Scheme Test (RST). This is a minimum level of benefits that the Scheme must provide. If your pension account provides less than the minimum level, the Scheme will pay a top-up.

If a top-up is required, your retirement choices may be limited and you should contact us for more details. If a top-up isn’t required, you can take your pension account in any of the ways we’ve described here.

Find out more about the Reference Scheme Test and why it may impact your benefits.

Reference Scheme Test