Retirement Info & Options

Allocation of Pension

What is allocation?

Once you are awarded a pension on retirement (not Ill Health), or at any time thereafter, you may choose, subject to certain conditions, to give up part of that pension for all time to provide pension cover for a spouse or any other person who is wholly or mainly dependent upon you at the time of allocation and is likely to remain so in the future.

For further details regarding Allocation of Pension.

What pensions increase will I receive?

Pension increases are normally applied to pensions once a year. If you are under age 55, the pension will not be increased until you reach age 55 at which point the rates of pension increase which have occurred since the beginning of the pension will be applied.

Inverse Commutation

You may be able to give up some or all of your pension scheme lump sum to increase your own pension and that of your spouse. This is known as inverse commutation. Inverse commutation may apply to:

• benefits payable at retirement
• preserved benefits payable at retirement age or those brought into payment early, except on medical grounds

You cannot make an option if you are retiring early on medical grounds.

You cannot make an option once the pension has come into payment.

If you would like any further information about this option you should contact your employee representative or the scheme administrators.

Purchasing Added Years on Early Retirement

You may be able to give up some or all of your pension scheme lump sum to increase your own pension and that of your spouse. This is known as inverse commutation. Inverse commutation may apply to:

benefits payable at retirement
premature retirement benefits involving payment of a Pension 
preserved benefits payable at retirement age or those brought into payment early, except on medical grounds
You cannot make an option if you are retiring early on medical grounds.

You cannot make an option once the pension has come into payment.

If you would like any further information about this option you should contact your employee representative or scheme administrators.

Additional Voluntary Contributions Scheme

What happens when I retire if I am a member of the AVC Scheme?

If you are a member of the Group AVC Scheme notification of your retirement will be sent by the scheme administrators to Prudential.

What if I retire on ill-health grounds?

If you are retired on ill-health grounds the annuity from the AVC Scheme will come into payment at the same time as your pension from the United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority final salary scheme.

How long will it take for me to receive details of the options?

Before the annuity can be set up the Prudential need to have received all of the contributions that have been deducted from your pay - depending on your date of retirement, there may be a delay before the Prudential receive your final payment to the AVC Scheme, and they are able to send you details of the main options available.

What options are available to me from the AVC Scheme?

Click here to access information about the options available.

Shift Pay Pension Savings Plan

What happens when I retire if I am a member of the Shift Pay Pension Plan?

If you are a member of the Shift Pay Pension Plan notification of your retirement will be sent by the scheme administrators to Prudential.

What if I retire on ill-health grounds?

If you are retired on ill-health grounds the benefits from the Shift Pay Pension Plan will come into payment at the same time as your pension from the United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority final salary scheme.

How long will it take for me to receive details of the options?

Before Prudential can provide details of the options available to you from the Shift Pay Pension Plan they need to have received all of the contributions that have been deducted from your pay - depending on your date of retirement or when you ceased shift working, there may be a delay before the Prudential receive your final payment to the Shift Pay Pension Plan, and they are able to send you details of the main options available.

What options are available to me from the Shift Pay Pension Plan?

Click here to access details of the options available.

Can I receive a refund of family benefit contributions?

Unmarried members can receive a refund of family benefit contributions in respect of service prior to April 1978 (for men) and April 1988 (for women) assuming that they were unmarried during that period. These contributions can be refunded in full (plus interest, less tax) at the time of retirement as there is no liability to pay a contingent widow(er)’s pension in respect of this service.

As I am unmarried do I have to provide for a spouse benefit in case I marry in the future?

Service after 5 April 1978 (for men) and after 5 April 1988 (for women) carries a liability for payment of a post retirement widow(er)’s pension and the family benefit contributions paid in respect of this service for members who are unmarried can only be refunded at retirement to members who are aged 60 or over, provided that they have remained unmarried.

Are there any deductions from the refund?

However, from the refund of family benefit contributions in respect of this service an insurance type one off premium will be deducted from the refunded contributions to cover the cost of providing a pension to the widow/widower of a post retirement marriage.

Can I choose which level of cover I provide?

There is a choice of premium available to provide either a larger or smaller spouse pension. The choice is between providing a post-retirement pension at the level of the widow’s/widower’s guaranteed minimum pension (GMP) or at the rate of a United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority pension scheme widow’s/widower’s pension. The premium is either 20% of the annual value of the widow’s/widower’s GMP or 30% of the annual value of the United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority Scheme widow’s/widower’s pension.

What is a guaranteed minimum pension (GMP)?

The guaranteed minimum pension (GMP) is the minimum level of pension which the Department of Work and Pensions requires the United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority pension schemes to provide for pensionable service before 6 April 1997.

If I marry or remarry after I have left the United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority pension scheme will I still receive a refund of family benefit contributions?

If you are unmarried when you leave the United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority Scheme and under age 60, and marry or remarry at any time since then you would not be eligible to receive a refund of family benefit contributions in respect of the service after April 1978 (for men) and April 1988 (for women) on reaching age 60.

Will my United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority final salary scheme pension be reduced at state pension age?

There will be a slight reduction in your United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority pension when you reach state retirement age if you have service prior to April 1980.

What was the reduction in National Insurance contributions up to March 1980?

During employment up to 31 March 1980 national insurance contributions were reduced, at the rate of 5p a week for men (22p a month) and 6p a week for women (25p a month) and as a result pensions covering this period are slightly reduced.

When did modification cease?

Since 1 April 1980. This means that scheme pensions will be reduced from age 65 for men and age 60 for women only in respect of service occurring up to 31 March 1980.

Who is affected by modification?

Depending on your date of entry to pensionable employment you will be affected by modification as follows:

• Entry between 1 March 1948 and 31 March 1980. 
  You will have paid reduced national contributions up until 31 March 1980. Your annual pension will be reduced, from age 65 for men and age 60 for women, by an amount not exceeding £1.70 for each year of service before 1 April 1980 and proportionately for a part year. Any added years being purchased or any enhancement of service awarded are ignored for the calculation. For example, a male member entering pensionable employment on 1 April 1950 at age 19 would have his annual pension reduced, from age 65, by (30 x £1.70) or £51 per annum.
• Entry on or after 1st April 1980
  Full national insurance contributions are payable and there is no reduction of United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority pension benefits at State retirement age. If you entered the United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority scheme on or after 1 April 1980 bringing a transfer value from another scheme, the whole of your service credit granted in the United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority scheme will be unmodified even though the pension arising under the previous scheme may have been modified. This may cause a slight reduction of your back service credit.

Will my pension be affected by the National Insurance Graduated Pension Scheme which ceased in 1975?

In general, most scheme members did not participate in the National Insurance Graduated Pension Scheme which came to an end with effect from 6 April 1975 and therefore their scheme benefits are unaffected. Those few who did participate will have their scheme pensions reduced correspondingly by a small amount if the amount of Graduated Pension earned is more than £5.20 per year.