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Leaving Service

What options do I have if I leave active membership?

You will stop earning benefits in the Plan if your employment ceases, or if you choose to opt-out. If you leave employment with one employer that participates in the Plan and immediately become employed by another employer that participates in the Plan, you will remain entitled to earn benefits in the Plan on the same basis as previously.

If you have two or more years of Qualifying Service when you stop earning benefits in the Plan but are not yet entitled to immediate payment of your pension you will be entitled to a Preserved pension which will include any CARE benefits you have built up and a preserved Final Salary pension, calculated by reference to your Pensionable Final Salary at the date you left Reckonable Service and benefits resulting from a transfer value received by the Trustee for you. You may also have benefits resulting from any AVCs paid by you and any contributions paid by you to the SPPP. For further information on these additional benefits, see AVCs, Added Pension & Added Years.

Your Preserved pension and Lump Sum (if applicable) will increase every year in line with RPI for your Final Salary benefits and CPI for your CARE benefits (sometimes called revaluation) and then be paid at a date of your choosing after you reach Pension Age.

You may be able to draw your Preserved pension and Lump Sum (if applicable) before your Pension Age if:

  1. You have opted out of the Plan and are subsequently retired by your employer on Medical Grounds;
  2. Your employment with an employer has come to an end but you’d have been retired on Medical Grounds had that employment continued;
  3. The NDA permits early payment if there are personal circumstances which compel you to give up employment or prevent you from seeking employment; or
  4. The Trustee agrees to paying your benefits before your Pension Age. In this case your benefits will be reduced to reflect early payment.

You cannot draw your pension before your Minimum Pension Age unless you’re in ill health (see Retiring). Note that for most members the Minimum Pension Age is age 55 but will increase to 57 from 6 April 2028, unless you have a Protected Pension Age or you are retiring due to ill health. There are no charges from the Plan if you access your pension or commute your benefits early, but unless an exception applies your annual benefits will be reduced for early payment.

If you have less than two years of Qualifying Service but are not entitled to immediate payment of a pension you will not have a Preserved pension and Lump Sum and instead you will receive a refund of your own contributions less any tax payable.

What if I become ill and I’m no longer an active member?

If you leave active membership in the Plan and any of the following apply, you may qualify for ill-health early retirement as a deferred member of the Plan:

  1. you leave your employment due to ill-health which, in the Trustee’s opinion, based on the advice of the Plan’s medical adviser means you are entitled to retire on Medical Grounds,
  2. you develop an illness after leaving your employment and the Trustee is satisfied that the illness would have led to your retirement on Medical Grounds if you had still been in active membership; or
  3. you have reached Minimum Pension Age and the NDA decides that there are personal circumstances which means you have to give up employment or prevents you from seeking employment.

Subject to qualifying for an ill-health early retirement pension under the Plan’s rules, your pension will be paid without making any reduction because of early payment, based on your Average Annual CARE Pension, your Pensionable Final Earnings and Reckonable Service completed. 

In cases of serious ill health (medically assessed with a life expectancy of less than 12 months) you may be able to commute your pension for a Lump Sum equal to five times your annual ill-health pension.

What if I want to transfer my benefits out of the Plan?

You may have the option of transferring your benefits, depending on your personal circumstances. If you’d like to transfer your benefits from the Plan to an alternative arrangement, the Trustee will ask the Plan Actuary to calculate your transfer value, which can then be paid into an alternative pension arrangement instead of receiving a Preserved pension from the Plan. Please note that there may be a requirement to take independent advice before a transfer of benefits from the Plan. If you want to transfer, it is recommended that you do contact a regulated advisor. If you do not already have a regulated advisor, you can get in touch with one by visiting www.moneyhelper.org.uk/retirement-directory. A financial adviser will be able to tell you about any fees or commission you’d have to pay them to support with a transfer to an adviser. The Plan does not charge you if you wish to transfer, convert to an annuity, or access drawdown or commutation.  

If you would like further information in relation to the options available on leaving Service, please contact Plan Administrator on 0333 207 6523 or email CombinedNuclearPensionPlan@equiniti.com