Retiring early from Pensionable Service before Normal Retirement Date
(except on medical grounds)

You may be permitted to retire at any time after the age of 55 and receive an immediate pension, subject to the Trustees’ and Company’s consent. The current policy of the Trustees and the Company is normally not to withhold consent at or after age 60.

Your pension will be reduced by an early retirement factor to account for the extra years over which your pension will be paid. The early retirement reduction factors are agreed between the Company and the Trustees on advice from the Scheme’s Actuary. They are reviewed periodically and may change from time to time. If Trustees’ and Company’s consent is given and you are aged between 55 and 60, your pension will be reduced by 4% for each year you are retiring before age 65.

If  Trustee and Company consent to early retirement is not given then early retirement is not possible and you will be treated as leaving service with deferred benefits.  Click on the left hand menu item "Leaving" for more information.  In this event, deferred pension can be drawn from age 50 but please note that the early retirement factors below will not apply.

Any transferred-in benefits or AVCs will also be payable. AVCs can normally be taken as a tax free lump sum. Alternatively it will be converted into a Scheme pension using the Pension Rate applicable when you retire. Alternatively, you may purchase a pension (which is called an annuity) from an external provider eg an insurance company and the Trustees have appointed Hargreaves Lansdown to help you choose an appropriate annuity if you wish to consider this option. More information about this service can be downloaded below and you can click here to go to their website.

Note: If you retire from Pensionable Service, you must also leave the service of the Company.

Downloads

To view any pdf files you will need Adobe Acrobat version 5.0 or above installed on your computer. You can download this free plugin by clicking here.

Download all files in a single zip file
Early Retirement Flow Diagram	15.33KB	16/05/2011	Download
Hargreaves Lansdown flyer	67.68KB	28/02/2012	Download