Will my pension be reduced for early payment?
How much of my pension can I convert to tax free cash?
Does my pension increase each year?
When will my benefits be paid?
What happens to my pension if I take up another job?
How much tax will I pay on my pension?
Can I keep on paying into the Scheme if I take voluntary redundancy?
If I accept the voluntary redundancy with a date of leaving in 3 months time, can I pay anything now into the Scheme to increase my benefits?Why does my retirement pack show my benefits as lower than in my annual benefit statements?
We all accepted voluntary redundancy and everyone else has got their retirement packs - why haven’t I?Will taking voluntary redundancy affect my entitlement to any state or social benefits?
What will my statutory redundancy payments be?Can I use my statutory redundancy payment from my employer to increase my NILGOSC benefits?
Will there be a cost to my employer?
My employer has issued a letter asking for expressions of interest for voluntary redundancy. Do I need to contact NILGOSC?
No. At this stage, there is no
obligation for you to request voluntary redundancy and your employer has no
obligation to make you redundant if you put in a request.
If you make a request and your employer is considering the redundancy, it will ask for quotations on your behalf.
What is the earliest age I can take voluntary redundancy and be entitled to immediate payment of my pension benefits?
If you are aged 55 or more at the date
of the redundancy, you will be entitled to receive your pension benefits
immediately.
If you are under age 55 at the date of the redundancy, your benefits will be deferred to your normal retirement date, usually age 65.
The three main
factors used to calculate your Scheme pension are your membership in the
Scheme, your pensionable pay (usually the pay from your last twelve months of employment) and
the rate at which your pension builds up. Section 4 of ‘The Retirement Guide’
explains pension calculations in more detail and provides examples.
You
may wish to refer to your most recent annual pension forecast for an indication of the benefits
you have built up to 31 March 2010. The notes section of your forecast also
explains how your pension is calculated.
Will my pension be reduced for early payment?
If your employer
makes you redundant or you are retired on the grounds of business efficiency
and you are aged 55 or over, your benefits are payable immediately without any
early retirement reductions.
How much of my pension can I convert to tax free cash?
You can take a
tax-free lump sum by giving up some of your annual pension. HM Revenue and Customs
(HMRC) Regulations allow you to take up
to 25% of the capital value of your Scheme benefits as a lump sum. For every £1
of annual pension that you give up you will receive £12 lump sum. In the same
way, giving up £100 of your annual pension would give you £1,200 lump sum, and
so on.
Does my pension increase each year?
Every
year, in April,
pensions are increased in line with the Pensions Increase Orders. The
Government has recently announced that pensions increases for
public sector pensions will be based on the Consumer Price Index
(CPI).
When will my benefits be paid?
Your pension is classed as taxable
income and the rate of tax you pay will depend on other income and allowances
you have. NILGOSC will tax your pension at basic rate, currently 20 percent, until we receive official notification of the
rate that applies to you from Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs (HMRC).
Can I keep on paying into the Scheme if I take voluntary
redundancy?
If I accept the voluntary redundancy with a date of leaving
in 3 months time, can I pay anything now into the Scheme to increase my
benefits?
You will not be able to make
Additional Regular Contributions to the Scheme to purchase additional pension,
as the minimum term permitted is one year.
Each year, we issue you with an estimate of your accrued benefits to
31 March of that year and a projection
of your retirement benefits at age 65, based on the salary rate your employer
has provided at 31 March and the membership history we hold for you.
We all accepted voluntary redundancy and everyone else has
got their retirement packs - why haven’t I?
There
are a number of reasons why
your retirement pack has not been issued. NILGOSC may not have received
the
paperwork from your employer or NILGOSC may require further information
from your
employer. A member's record is thoroughly checked before final payment
of benefits is made and sometimes queries arise which may delay issuing
the retirement pack.
Your
pension will be classed as taxable income and you should check with the
relevant benefit agencies if this income will affect your entitlements. You
should always declare the pension payments you receive when applying for
benefits.
The contributions you have paid during your working life will
determine your level of State Pension. If you retire before the
State Pension age you may want to think about making some top-up contributions
either to boost the amount of your State Pension or to make sure that you will
get bereavement payments for widows and widowers or bereaved civil partners.
NILGOSC does not calculate statutory redundancy amounts and your employer will advise you of your entitlement to statutory redundancy. More information on entitlement to redundancy pay is available at the Directgov website at http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/Employment/RedundancyAndLeavingYourJob/Redundancy/DG_10029836. A statutory redundancy calculator is available at http://www.direct.gov.uk/redundancy.dsb.
No.
Can I use some of my
redundancy payment to buy a larger pension?
No.
Will there be a cost to my employer?
There may be a cost to your employer depending on a number of
factors:
The
method to calculate any costs to your employer, due to redundancy, is complex
and therefore your employer should request a quotation from our Pensions Administration
Section. Requests for quotations
must come from your employer.