Taking your benefits

When can I take my benefits?

The Normal Retirement Date (NRD) under the Fund is the date at which you can take your benefits without any reduction for early payment and will be shown on your latest benefit statement. Over the years the NRD in the Fund has changed, this means you may find you have different NRDs for different periods of your service. 

A high-level process map showing what happens as you approach your NRD can be found on page 9.

Will I be able to take part of my pension as a cash sum?

Based on current legislation, you will normally have the option to exchange up to 25% of the value of your total Fund benefits for a tax-free cash lump sum at your retirement in return for a reduced pension. There is a limit on the maximum amount of tax-free cash that can be paid, for most people this will be £268,275 over the 2024/25 tax year.

In certain limited circumstances set by HMRC, where your pension is deemed to be of a trivial amount, you may be able to surrender your whole pension for a lump sum (with 25% being tax free).

Please note the actuarial factors used to calculate any tax-free cash lump sum are reviewed from time to time by the Trustee and are subject to change, without notice. If the factors change before you take your Fund benefits, this may result in your taxfree cash lump sum being lower or higher than the amount stated in your retirement quotation.

How do I obtain a retirement quotation?

The Administrator will contact you shortly before your NRD with details of your pension benefits and options.

If you want to take your benefits at a different date, you can obtain a retirement quotation by contacting the Administrator or by using the Benefit Quotations calculator on the Member Portal. By using the Portal, you can model figures at different retirement ages.

You should note that the retirement quotation initially provided to you will contain estimated figures and does not constitute a promise or entitlement to benefits. There are also certain aspects of the calculation basis which may be subject to change, including actuarial factors used by the Trustee and rates of revaluation applied to your deferred pension.

Can I take my benefits while I am still working?

Yes, your employment status does not affect whether you can take your benefits.

Can I take some of my benefits now and some at a later date?

This option (known as flexible retirement) is only available to employees in respect of their current period of pensionable service, if they were active members of the Fund on 31 March 2021 and will be in employment with Nationwide at the date they start taking their benefits. Further details on the applicable rules can be found in the Flexible Retirement Guide.

What happens if I am too ill to carry on working?

If you become permanently unable to work as a result of ill-health, you can apply to the Trustee to have your benefits paid early on the grounds of ill-health. This as  known as a Permanent Incapacity Early Retirement (PIER) pension. In order for the Trustee to consider awarding a PIER pension, they will require information from you and a professional medical adviser (such as your GP and/ or specialist), as well as the Trustee’s medical adviser.

Where payment of an ill-health pension is approved, there is no minimum age for payment. If you were an active member of the Fund when it closed to future accrual on 31 March 2021 and retire from the same period of service with Nationwide due to ill-health there will be no reduction applied for early payment
to the benefits applicable to that period of service. In all other cases a reduction will be applied for early payment. Once a PIER pension is awarded, the Trustee retains the right to review and subsequently reduce or stop it if you return to good health.

Additionally, in the circumstances of serious ill-health, where life expectancy is considered to be less than 12 months, you may be able to take the total value of your pension benefits as a single lump sum.

How will my pension be paid?

Your pension will normally be paid monthly into your bank or building society account on the 22nd of the month. Your pension is subject to income tax which is deducted via PAYE.

Additional Voluntary Contributions (AVCs)

What options do I have for taking my AVCs?

This depends on what option you chose when making AVCs to the Fund:

Pension credits and added years AVCs

If you chose the Pension Credit or Added Years AVC options, your AVCs will have purchased additional pension and this will have been included in the deferred pension calculation provided to you when you left pensionable service. These amounts will increase in the same way as the rest of your benefits. The additional pension purchased with your AVCs will also be included in the pension and cash lump sum figures quoted in any retirement quotations you receive.

Individual retirement funds

If you chose to have your contributions invested in the individual retirement funds available (e.g. Fidelity, Zurich and Prudential funds), you will have built up a separate pension savings account.

The current value of your AVC account can be used to buy additional pension (excluding a dependant’s pension) and/or cash lump sum from the Fund.

You do not have to take the benefits from your AVC account at the same time as your other benefits. You have the option to either:

• leave your AVC account invested for any period up to age 75. You will then still have the option of taking 25% of the fund value as a cash lump sum and using the rest to buy additional pension; or
• transfer the value of your additional contributions to another pension scheme.

The value of the benefits provided by your AVCs will depend on several factors including, where appropriate, the amount of the contributions paid, any cost of exercising any right to transfer the benefits, any charges payable, the age at which you access the benefits, the performance of investments and any cost of converting the benefit into an annuity.

How can I find out the current value of my AVCs?

If you chose to invest your AVCs into the Fidelity, Prudential or Zurich investment funds, you can register to access your AVC details online as follows:

• Fidelity PlanViewer – you can talk to Fidelity about registering on 0800 368 6868
• Prudential Portal – you can talk to Prudential about registering on 0345 601 0150
• Zurich Portal – you can talk to Zurich about registering on 0370 241 6950

What happens if I die before taking my AVC benefits?

If your AVCs purchased additional pension credits or added years, the death benefits payable in respect of those benefits will be the same as the death benefits payable in respect of your other benefits. If your AVCs were invested in an individual retirement fund or funds, the accumulated fund value will normally be payable to your beneficiaries as a lump sum. You will need to contact the Administrator for further information.