BENEFITS BEFORE NORMAL RETIREMENT

 

NORMAL RETIREMENT

Normal retirement age is 65.   You can elect in writing to your employer, to retire and receive your LGPS(NI) benefits at any time  from age, 60 onwards. 

 

EARLY RETIREMENT

Between and including the ages of 50 and 59 you can elect to retire and receive your benefits, but only if your employer gives its consent. This is an employer’s discretion and under the LGPS(NI) your employer’s policy on this must be included in its Policy Statement. 

 

If you retire before age 65 and have not reached your normal retirement date, your pension and lump sum, initially calculated as detailed in the section on Benefits at retirement, may be reduced.

 

Reductions depend on when you meet The 85 Year Rule.  The rule means that if your age at retirement and your total membership counted in whole years, when added together equal at least 85, there is no reduction. The 85 year rule is being phased out from 1st April 2008 and will not apply to any members who join the Scheme after 30th September 2006. For members who joined before 1st October 2006, if you were born before 1st April 1956 and will pass the 85 year rule test before 1st April 2016, and you retire by then, you are protected from the change. If you continue working beyond 1st April 2016, any benefits accrued after that date will be subject to reduction if taken before age 65. However, if you can satisfy the 85 year rule before 1st April 2020, a smaller reduction will apply to benefits which you accrue up to 31st March 2008. Benefits accrued up to 31st March 2008 are protected for members who join the Scheme before 1st October 2006 and who could meet the 85 year rule test at some time in the future, but were born on or after 1st April 1956.

 

FLEXIBLE RETIREMENT

A member aged 50 or over who reduces hours or moves to a lower grade may, with his/her employer’s consent, elect in writing to the Committee to draw the pension benefits s(he) has already built up while continuing in employment. The benefits payable will be actuarially reduced unless the member fulfils the 85-year rule (see above), or the employer exercises its discretion to waive the reduction by paying an actuarial cost.

S(he) can continue paying into the LGPS(NI) to build up further benefits in the scheme. However, those subsequently accrued benefits may be reduced if s(he) retires before age 65 as the previous period of service will not be taken into account in determining when the 85 year rule is met.

 

ILL HEALTH RETIREMENT

 

Provided at least three months membership has been completed and permanent incapacity has been certified by the Committee’s medical adviser, benefits are paid on the grounds of permanent ill health, based on the Scheme membership as shown below:-

 

Scheme Membership

Additional Membership Awarded (see note)

Less than 5 years

Actual membership

5 to 10 years

Doubled membership

10 to 13½ years

20 years

Over 13½ years

Additional 6⅔ years

Note: the additional membership granted cannot exceed the period from date of retirement to age 65 or increase membership beyond 40 years.

 

In cases of severe ill health, where the Committee’s Doctor certifies that the member’s life expectancy is less than one year, the ill health pension may be commuted and paid as a lump sum.

 

The calculation of benefits is similar to that for a normal retirement except that additional membership may have been awarded. Use the calculations shown on the Benefits at retirement page to work out your entitlement.

 

 

REDUNDANCY

 

On being made redundant or retired on the grounds of efficiency at age 50 or over, with at least three months membership, you are entitled to receive a pension and lump sum. The benefits are based on length of membership and final salary as shown on the Benefits at retirement page.

 

 

DEATH IN SERVICE

 

Lump Sum Death Grant

If you die while an active member of the Scheme a death grant of twice your pensionable pay is payable. The Committee has complete discretion as to whom this death grant is paid and will normally pay it to your spouse or civil partner or your next of kin if you are not married. To help the Committee exercise this discretion you can complete a nomination form indicating your preferred wish. The nomination form is available from your employer or direct from the Committee.

 

 

Dependants’ Benefits

 

1.             Short-term pension

Your surviving spouse or civil partner will receive a pension at the rate of your pensionable pay at the date of death for the following period:-

 

No eligible children                      for three months

One or more eligible children       for six months

 

2.             Long-term pension

If you have at least three months membership your surviving spouse or civil partner will receive a long-term pension after the short-term pension has ended.

 

The pension payable to the surviving spouse is half of the ill-health pension you would have received at the date of your death. A civil partner’s pension is half of the ill-health pension based on membership from 6th April 1988.

 

No dependant’s pension is payable to a common-law spouse.

 

3.             Children’s Long-Term Pension

A child is eligible to receive a pension if he/she is:

 

a.       under age 17

b.      over age 17 and has remained in full time education or training. Children’s pensions commencing on or after 6th April 2006 must cease at age 23, even if full-time education has not been completed.

c.       over age 17 but permanently incapacitated due to a condition which arose before age 17 or while undergoing full time education or training.

 

A long-term pension is payable to an eligible child when the short-term pension payable to either the child or the spouse or civil partner ends.

 

The pension payable to an eligible child in the care of a spouse or civil partner is as follows:

One child: ¼ of your notional ill health pension

Two or more children: ½ of your notional ill health pension (divided equally between the number of children)

 

NB. The service used to calculate your notional ill health pension must not be less than 10 years membership, or, if less, the membership you could have attained by age 65.

 

If there is no surviving spouse or civil partner, or the eligible children are not dependent on the spouse or civil partner, the long-term pension is payable at a higher rate.

 

 

LEAVING NILGOSC

 

The following options apply if you leave the Scheme and are not entitled to the benefits shown above:-

 

Preserved Benefits

You are entitled to preserved (or ‘deferred’) benefits, calculated as per normal retirement benefits, provided that you have at least three months membership and you have not reached state retirement age at time of leaving the Scheme.

 

Preserved benefits are payable at age 65 or, if earlier, at the date between age 60 and 65 when the 85 Year Rule would have been met had you remained in the Scheme. You can apply from age 60 for benefits to be paid on a reduced basis before the payable date.

 

Preserved benefits may be brought into payment early on the grounds of permanent ill health or, in exceptional circumstances, on compassionate grounds if you are aged 50 or over.

 

A death grant, spouse’s or civil partner’s and children’s pensions, if applicable, are payable in the event of death before benefits are due.

 

Refund of Contributions

A refund is payable if you leave the Scheme with less than three months membership unless:-

 

 

 

 

Transfer to another pension arrangement

As an alternative to a refund of contributions or preserved benefits, you may be able to transfer the value of your accrued benefits to another pension arrangement.