If you have a NatWest Pension this could apply to you

Ribin

This post will only apply to a minority but thought it worth posting.

I am aged 57 and have a NatWest pension and on all my retirement projections it shows a Normal Retirement Date (NRD) of age 60. I had assumed that if I took my pension early there would be a discount for doing so - that is not the case!

Apparently under my pension terms, my pension is payable on an undiscounted basis before NRD of 60 based on the length of time that was left until I reached age 50 at the time that I left NatWest.

So as I left when I was 43, that means that when I hit age 57 they no longer discounted my pension, so there is absolutely no reason not to draw my pension then and in fact you would be losing out on the monthly income if you leave it. Also to rub salt into the wound, there are further rules regarding the commutation of cash and the amount reduces the closer you get to 60, thus devaluing your pension.

Of course the trustees never brought any of the above to my attention.

So if you have a NatWest Pension and want further info, just post here, and to all you others with scheme pensions, I strongly recommend you get hold of a copy of the rules and examine with a fine tooth comb. Had I not persevered in getting answers to my questions and blindly waited until I was 60, I would have lost out on over £60k's worth of income.

xylophone

So the position is not as you described in https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/62257577#Comment_62257577 post 4?

. Mine at age 60 will be £23,600 p.a. or if I commute £108,500 lump sum and reduced pension of £16,270. If I take now at age 57yrs and 2 months, the figures are pension £20,875 or lump sum of £97,220 and reduced pension of £14,580.

Of course the trustees never brought any of the above to my attention.

Do you have a booklet concerning your scheme with details and examples for deferred members?

You have a GMP?

Ribin

Yes the figures are broadly similar. As at 1st November 2013 full pension of £21.6k or £101k commute and reduced pension of £15.1k. However as at 1st December the figures are exactly the same apart from the reduced pension goes down by £100.

The pension figure only now goes up annually in line with RPI, which you get whether it is in payment or not. So there is nothing to gain and all to lose in not taking the pension now.

Just now need to decide how much to commute. Have done a variety of scenarios working out net income and will probably go for max tax free commutation.

No there is no booklet just a whole host of extracts relating to the T & C's.