Taking your pension

Retiring is a personal choice. You will have the option to retire at any age from 55 if you have been contributing into the scheme for more than 2 years.

We recommend you get an estimate of how much your pension is likely to be on your expected retirement date.

You can use My Pension Portal to run an estimate.

If you are retiring due to ill-health, redundancy, business efficiency, or you are taking flexible retirement we won't be able to supply you with an estimate directly, but your employer can request one on your behalf and share this with you directly.

Please note

• The calculations on the 'My Pension' portal will be an estimate and do not take into account annual increases in line with inflation
• Your take home pay might be different in the future, which will affect your annual pension
• The projections include reductions or enhancements based on the 85-year rule if it is applicable to you.

The Retirement process

Once you have decided on the date that you would like to retire, you will then need to request taking your pension benefits.

You need to inform your employer than you intend to retire.

Your employer will then inform us of your retirement by sending us a leaver notification containing your final pay details. If you are intending to take your pension benefits immediately you should inform let your employer know so they can tell us.

If you have a separate deferred benefits pension account that you wish to release at the same time, you will need to notify us directly at least 3 months before your retirement date. Alternatively, you can request to take them separately, the option will be included in your retirement pack.

Once we have received all the information we need from your employer we will be able to provide you with a pension quotation. This usually won't be provided to us until quite close to your retirement date, as some employers will not have access to the information until your final month's pay. If we have to query any of the above with your employer we will not be able to proceed until they confirm the information.

We aim to calculate your pension within 15 working days of receiving accurate and complete information from your employer.

Once we have calculated your pension, if we have your email address, we will securely email you otherwise this will be posted to you. Please allow 5 to 7 working days for delivery.

Included in the pension quotation will be:

• a letter setting out your pension options
• a pension claim form
• a summary of your pension calculation
• useful information about receiving your LGPS pension.

You will need to complete and return your pension claim form to us as soon as possible. You will also need to verify your date of birth, this can be done by providing a copy of your birth certificate, passport or driving licence. You will also have to provide evidence of a name change if the date of birth verification is held in a different name to the one we hold for you.

For audit and legal reasons, we won't be able to process your forms unless they are completed in full and accurately. If you need any assistance in completing the forms, or you have any questions, contact us before you complete your forms. If we receive forms that are not completed fully, we will be unable to process your pension, and this could delay your payment.

We aim to process your pension claim forms within 15 working days of receiving them. Once we receive your pension claim form we will:

• check to ensure they are fully complete
• check your date of birth verification
• calculate your final pension benefit
• prepare a letter confirming your payment

If anything is incorrect we will contact you to advise you of this and we will ask you to complete a new form if necessary.

Once we have everything we need to pay your pension benefits a letter will be issued to you confirming your final pension amount and the date you will receive payment.

If you are due to receive a lump sum we will issue a BACS payment, this can take up 3-5 working days to clear in your account.

Your monthly pension payment is paid on the last Thursday of each month, with the exception of December where the payment date may be earlier due to public holidays. Our ability to get you onto the next pension payroll is influenced by the payroll deadlines and our normal monthly payment cycle. If we pass the payroll deadline, we will pay any arrears to you at the next available payment date, they will be backdated to your retirement date, this may mean that your first pension payment includes arrears.

This is because we will run the payroll the week before payment, and we need time to check through the information you send to us and perform a final calculation of pension amounts.

Considering the above pension payment cycles please plan your finances carefully to cover the period between leaving employment and your first pension payment.