Cash Equivalent or Transfer Payments
If you leave service or opt out of the Scheme, you may be able to transfer your Scheme benefits to a different pension arrangement, such as a new employer’s pension scheme or a personal pension plan.
If you are considering transferring your benefits out of the Scheme, you should contact the administration team to request a ‘cash equivalent transfer value’ (CETV) statement. This statement will show the value of your benefits in the Scheme available to you if you wish to transfer to a different pension arrangement. The transfer value will depend upon your total pension credit in the Scheme, your age at the date of transfer and investment market conditions at the time of calculation.
Requests for guaranteed cash equivalents can only be made once every 12 months. If you wish to go ahead with the transfer, you will be required to reply within 3 months of the date the quotation is given. Further details will be provided on request from the Benefits Department.
If you’re thinking of transferring your benefits out of the Scheme, we recommend you take independent financial advice. The Scheme cannot advise you on what to do. You must take independent advice before transferring your benefits to another scheme if the value of your guaranteed cash equivalent exceeds a certain amount (£30,000 in 2017/2018) and you are transferring to a defined contribution scheme or scheme that offers flexible benefits.