Retirement

You have a right to retire and draw your benefits from your Normal Pension Age (NPA) without any reduction being applied to your benefits. This is deemed to be the point from which your pension benefits would usually be brought into payment, the last day of employment being the day before your NPA.

Your NPA is linked to your State Pension Age (SPA) but with a minimum age of 65. If your SPA changes in the future this will also be reflected in your NPA from the Berkshire Pension Fund.

To find out your SPA please follow the link to State Pension Age calculator which can be found on the GOV.UK website.

To find out more about retiring before your NPA please visit the Early Retirement section of this website.

Changes to the State Pension Age

As your Normal Pension Age (NPA) within the LGPS is linked to your State Pension Age (SPA) any changes to SPA in the future will apply to all the pension you build up in the scheme after 31 March 2014. That means that the age when you can take your pension in full without any reduction for early payment will change.

If you built up membership in the LGPS before April 2014 then you will have membership in the final salary scheme. These benefits have a different NPA, which for most is age 65 (see below).

Protected NPA for existing members

Your pension built up before 1 April 2014 under the Final Salary Scheme has a protected Normal Pension Age, which for almost all is age 65. If you retire and draw all of your pension at your protected Normal Pension Age, the pension built up in the scheme before 1 April 2014 will be paid without reduction.

If you choose to take your pension before your protected Normal Pension Age the pension you have built up in the scheme before 1 April 2014 will normally be reduced, as it's being paid earlier. If you take it later than your protected Normal Pension Age it will be increased because it's being paid later.

The amount of any percentage reduction or percentage increase will be based on how many years earlier or later than your protected Normal Pension Age you draw the pension you have built up in the scheme to 31 March 2014.

The benefits you build up in the career average scheme from 1 April 2014 have a Normal Pension Age linked to your State Pension Age (but with a minimum age of 65).

Please note: You cannot take your pension benefits built up to 1 April 2014 separately from the benefits you build up from 1 April 2014. All your pension would have to be drawn at the same time (except in the case of partial Flexible Retirement).

A note about AVCs

If it is your intention to claim your AVC at the point you retire you may wish to consider ceasing your AVC contributions approximately two months beforehand in order to allow time for your AVC benefits to be calculated and released to you in a timely manner. If you have an AVC Fund and you would like details of the current value please contact Prudential directly on 0345 6000343.