Leaving the Scheme
This section explains what happens to your retirement benefits if you leave the Company or decide to opt out of the Scheme. It covers your deferred benefits, how they increase over time, and your option to transfer your pension to another scheme. It also highlights important things to consider before making any decisions.
What are my options if I leave before retirement?
If you leave the Company, Aptia will contact you with details of your retirement benefits built up to your date of leaving. You’ll receive this information within two months of leaving.
You may decide to leave the Scheme even if you’re still working for the Company – this is known as ‘opting out’. You’ll need to give Aptia at least two complete months’ notice if you want to do this. It may take them up to six weeks after the opt out date to provide details of your retirement benefits and options, due to the timeframe involved in waiting for the relevant inflation figure.
Important — you should think very carefully before opting out of the Scheme because you won’t be able to re-join once you’ve opted out. The Company will have to automatically enrol you in the Iberdrola Group (UK) Stakeholder Pension Plan – although you’ll be able to opt out of this pension scheme too, if you want to.
Deferred retirement benefits
If you leave the Scheme before retirement, you’re entitled to deferred retirement benefits. These may differ from the benefits which you would’ve received had you remained in pensionable service. Generally, your benefits are worked out in the same way as your normal retirement benefits, but using your pensionable salary and pensionable service when you leave the Scheme.
The Scheme will increase your benefits each year until you reach retirement:
ScottishPower Benefits Section In line with the Retail Prices Index (RPI) up to 5% a year (or in line with statutory revaluation, if higher).
FSLP Benefits Section In line with statutory revaluation, which is currently based on the Consumer Price Index (CPI) up to either 5% or 2.5% a year (depending on whether the pension was built up before or after 6 April 2009).
Your deferred retirement benefits will be payable from normal pension age, but you may be able to retire earlier or later depending on your circumstances.
Transfer your retirement benefits
You also have the option to transfer the value of your retirement benefits to another pension scheme. See below for further details.
What happens if I want to transfer my retirement benefits out of the Scheme?
If you’re considering transferring your retirement benefits out of the Scheme, you’ll need to request a transfer value quotation from Aptia (also known as a Cash Equivalent Transfer Value or CETV quotation). You can request one CETV quotation each year free of charge. Any extra requests will cost £250 plus VAT.
Watch a short video explaining CETV
If you’ve already left the Scheme
You can get an illustrative quote by logging into your OneView account. You can also request a full CETV quotation, guaranteed for three months, from Aptia.
If you’re still in the Scheme
You can get an illustrative quote by logging into your OneView account or request it from Aptia.
You’ll need to opt out of the Scheme (see ‘What are my options if I leave before retirement?’) before requesting a guaranteed CETV quotation and deciding to go ahead with a transfer.
Go to Contact Aptia Pensions and click on ‘Me’ then ‘Transfer’ to watch a series of videos explaining what’s involved with the transfer process.
How a CETV is worked out
Your CETV is a realistic estimate of the cost of providing your retirement benefits from the Scheme – this may not be the same as the cost of buying equivalent benefits from a pension provider. The CETV amount doesn’t have any impact on the retirement benefits due to be paid to you from the Scheme – it only matters if you decide to transfer out of the Scheme.
Broadly speaking, your CETV is worked out as the estimated cost of your expected future retirement benefits, at the date of the CETV quotation.
Key factors impacting your CETV quotation
Your CETV can change year to year as we work it out using assumptions about future inflation, interest rates and life expectancies based on the latest market information.
This doesn’t mean that the retirement benefits have changed, just that the expected cost of providing them has.
Example
How much is a future payment of £100,000 in 10 years’ time worth now?
Interest rate expected to be:
· 3% a year – Future payment is currently worth £74,000.
· 5% a year – Future payment is currently worth £61,000 which is 18% lower.
