Question re CS Alpha Pension

monaebrook

I have written to the CS pension people but they are not very good at replying! Have tried to find the answer in the various documents but failed...
I'm a member of Alpha - protected rights to go at age 55. OH and I are planning to get out ASAP, multiple reasons including increasingly dependent parents. His side is easy, he's currently 57 so the modeller gives a fairly accurate prediction.
I will be 52 in November and we are looking to go on 30 April 2026.
My question is, I get a figure through the modeller to go at age 55 but can't get any earlier, so if I stop paying into the pension 2.5 years before I turn 55, will it be the same figures or is it based on paying until I turn 55?
Hopefully that makes sense!

NedS

I don't know how the modeller works as I don't use it.

With Alpha, you accrue 2.32% of your pensionable salary each year, which then rises in line with CPI inflation, so it should be easy for you to calculate. Look at your most recent pension statement, which will show you your benefits accrued up until April 2025, and then add on 2.32% of your pensionable salary for each year (or part year) you expect to work (so add on 1 year and 1 month to take you through to 30 April 2026)

The you need to work out how much your pension will be reduced by taking it early, which can be done by applying the relevant early reduction factor from tables available on MyCSP website.

hugheskevi

monaebrook said:

My question is, I get a figure through the modeller to go at age 55 but can't get any earlier, so if I stop paying into the pension 2.5 years before I turn 55, will it be the same figures or is it based on paying until I turn 55?

The modeller output is based on working and paying into alpha until age 55. There is no functionality to show a result based on stopping accrual earlier.

sammyjammy

You could look at your Annual benefit statement, just issued for me, that will give you some idea of your current pension build up but that will obviously have deductions for taking it at 55.

Bravepants

For what it's worth if you have experience of any spreadsheet software such as Microsoft Excel, it could be useful to do it yourself. Or find someone to help you do it. The modeller has always been a bit limited.

As NedS said above... while you work accruel is 2.32% of your salary plus inflation (CPI) applied in April. When you stop working it's uplifted only by CPI each year. The CPI value used is always that measured the previous September.