Transferring out of the Scheme

Your transfer value is the estimated amount of money that the Scheme holds to provide you with the promised pension benefit you have within the Scheme. It also includes how much it would cost to provide a spouse’s or partner’s pension and any increases that are built into the Scheme rules, so it can be quite a large sum of money.

You can choose to transfer out of the Scheme at any time before you retire if you have left the Scheme and have a deferred pension. You don’t have to be nearing retirement or even be over 55, although by law you’ll not generally be able to access your transferred benefits until you reach age 55 (57 from 2028).

If you’re still paying into the Scheme, you can choose to transfer out when you leave or when you retire.

You can ask for a transfer quote by contacting Buck, the Scheme Administrator.

Please bear in mind that your transfer value can change depending on when you ask for a quote. This is because the way it's worked out depends on a number of factors including current and expected interest rates and inflation. When these factors rise or fall, this can mean the transfer value can vary substantially over quite short periods of time. 

Email for a transfer quote

If you choose to transfer the value of your benefits out the Scheme you can take your money in a number of different ways from age 55:

• Take regular lump sums as and when you need them, leaving the rest invested 
  This is known as income drawdown. It might be an appealing option if you’re comfortable making investment decisions for your pension and you want more flexibility over how and when you access your money throughout your retirement.You need to be aware that as with any investments, the value of your pension savings can go up or down depending on how the investments perform. So, you need to feel able to deal with seeing the value change over time – either up or down.
• Use your transfer value to secure a regular income for life 
  You have the option to take a tax-free cash sum and buy a guaranteed, regular income for life with an insurance company (also called an annuity). This would give you the same security as taking your pension from the Scheme but you could find that you can buy a higher pension with your transfer value if you don’t need a spouse’s pension or if you are in poor health. There are many things that would affect this including how much it costs to buy a pension when you come to do so. An impartial adviser would help you explore this as an option to see what would suit your circumstances.
• Keep your transfer value invested until you’re ready to use it 
  Suitable if you don’t need your pension income yet, so maybe you’re carrying on working or you have other savings you’ll be living on. You need to be aware that as with any investments, the value of your pension savings can go up or down depending on how the investments perform. So, you need to feel able to deal with seeing the value change over time – either up or down.
• Take all your savings as a cash lump sum 
  You may wish to consider this if you have a small transfer value (under £30,000) as the regular income it could provide would be quite low. The first 25% would be paid tax-free. This could also be relevant if your transfer value is over £30,000, but you’d have to pay tax at a higher marginal rate.
• You can also do a mix of these options 
  For example you could keep your money invested for a while, take up to 25% tax free and then later withdraw the lump sums as you need them, or buy a pension to last the rest of your life. Whichever option you choose, you can take up to 25% of the value of your savings tax free.

You must take independent financial advice if you’re thinking of transferring to a defined contribution scheme and your transfer value is over £30,000.

How to get financial advice

Remember: If you transfer your benefits out of the Scheme neither you nor your family or dependants will be entitled to any benefits from the Scheme.

To understand whether taking a transfer value could be right for you, you need to consider your feelings about the different risks. This is something that an independent financial adviser will talk through with you as well as looking at what’s viable for what you want out of your retirement.

How to get financial advice

Here’s an example of the different risks associated with your options:

If you take your pension benefits from the Scheme:

• You have the security of knowing it’ll be paid for the rest of your life.
• But if you were to die early and you don’t have a spouse, civil partner or other dependant, no-one will receive the remaining pension benefits that would have been paid if you’d lived a long life.

If you take a transfer value:

• You have more choice about how you use the money but you need to make sure that it will last you throughout your retirement.
• If you die early and you haven’t taken your money as a regular, guaranteed income (annuity) any remaining money can be paid to your beneficiaries as part of your estate.

The risk of scams

You also need to be aware of the risks posed by pension scams. Scammers can present themselves as a pension scheme or investment vehicles for you to transfer your money into - then, once you've transferred your benefits, they disappear with your hard-earned savings. Taking advice from an FCA regulated independent adviser should protect you from this risk. If you choose your own adviser rather than taking the advice offered by the Trustees with WPSA, please be very careful who you're talking to (because a fraudulent adviser may be in on the scam). The Trustees have the power to block any transfers they think might be fraudulent. 

If you’re interested in discovering what your estimated transfer value is, you can email the Scheme Administrator.

Email for a transfer value

The cash value of your benefits will be calculated and you’ll be issued with a statement of entitlement within three months. The Trustees are not obliged to provide you with a further statement of entitlement until twelve months has passed.

Your transfer value may look like quite a lot of money, but you need to be aware that this money (along with any other pension savings you have) will need to support you for the rest of your life once you retire.

If you’ve previously paid Additional Voluntary Contributions, you may be able to transfer these savings to another pension arrangement without affecting your other benefits held within the Scheme.

Recently, new rules have been introduced that aim to protect your benefits and help prevent you falling victim to a scam. As part of these rules the Scheme administrator, Buck, has a responsibility to check your transfer request carefully in case the scheme you’re transferring into is a scam. There’s a traffic light system for low, medium and high-risk transfers. If any amber or red flags are identified, Buck will get in touch with you to explain their concerns, and they might need you to make an appointment with MoneyHelper for a ‘Pension Safeguarding Guidance’ appointment before the transfer can go ahead.

If Buck have serious concerns, they have the power to block transfers they believe are a scam, so it’s important that you engage with them to resolve any issues, to minimise delays.

Please remember that these rules have all been put in place to protect you from potential scams – it can be annoying to face delays, but it is intended for your best interests to protect your benefits.

There’s a lot to consider when deciding whether to transfer your benefits to another pension arrangement, so you should take financial advice from an FCA regulated adviser to make sure this is the right decision for you.

If your transfer value is greater than £30,000 and you want to transfer to a DC arrangement, you are legally required to take independent financial advice and provide the Trustees with your adviser’s details.

Paid for advice for over 55s

If you’re over the age of 55, Raytheon will pay for you to receive independent financial advice to help you decide what’s right for you. You can access this advice once a year until you retire.

How to get financial advice