When you can take your benefits

You don’t have to wait till your Normal Retirement Date at age 65 to retire – at present, you can choose to retire any time from age 55. Your pension would be reduced if you take it before age 65 though, because it would be expected to be paid for longer. You don’t need to have stopped working to be able to take your benefits from the DB section.

Due to a change in the law, from April 2028 the earliest age you can retire will increase to 57.

You can choose to take your benefits after age 65 if you wish – they will then be increased to reflect that they would be expected to be paid for a shorter time.

If you have benefits in both the DB section and the DC section of the Plan, you may not have to take your benefits at the same time, depending on how you take them. So, for example, you could take your benefits from the DC section at age 55 to supplement your income as you go part time, and take your DB benefits at 65 when you retire. If you choose to take a lump sum from your DC benefits to supplement your DB pension, though, both benefits would need to come into payment at the same time.