On receipt of your completed retirement forms we will check to ensure all necessary information has been provided. If we have any questions regarding the information you have provided we will contact you directly at this point.
Once we have everything we need we will process your retirement claim and write to you to confirm when this has been done. Your final letter from us will confirm your retirement has been processed, the date from which you can expect to start receiving your pension and any other details we need to make you aware of.
We will do our best to ensure your first monthly pension payment is paid to you on the expected date, however this may not always be possible. We make BACS payments on a weekly basis, so if we miss a monthly payment run we will ensure your payment is made on the next available payment run following your date of retirement.
Pension Commencement Date:
If you retired on 31 March your pension would commence from 1 April with your first payment being credited to your nominated bank account on the last working day of that month (i.e 30 April).
Details of our monthly pension payment dates can be found here.
Payment of a lump sum:
The payment of any tax-free Lump Sum Retirement Grant, if applicable, together with arrears of Annual Pension that may be due, will be paid to your account on the next available payment run following your pension commencement date.
Your pension is payable for your lifetime and is increased in line with the Consumer Prices Index (CPI). The increase is based on the September to September change in the Consumer Prices Index (CPI).
Income Tax and your pension:
Your LGPS pension is a taxable income, therefore we will be notified of your tax code by HMRC and any tax will be deducted at source by the Berkshire Pension Fund payroll team. Tax code notifications are received from HMRC directly to the Berkshire Pensions payroll team.
A retirement grant lump sum is tax-free.