As a member…
You may want to get some advice
Although there’s lots of benefits to flexible retirement, it’s a big decision. You may want to get some professional advice before making changes to your pension. The value of your savings can go up and down, and if:
- you take out too much pension
- live longer than expected
- your investments don’t perform as well as you’d hoped
then, you could run out of money before you die.
You need to tell your employer
If you’re interested in taking flexible retirement, you should contact your employer as soon as possible. They’ll:
- explain their flexible retirement policy
- tell you whether they’ll reduce your pension if you retire before your State Pension age
- agree your retirement date
- give us information about your pay, leaving date, and reason for leaving
- pay any costs associated with you retiring early (if relevant).
If you take flexible retirement after your State Pension age your pension will be increased. This is because you’ll have been paying into your pension for longer.
You’ll get from us
- an estimate of your pension within 10 working days (if your employer has given us the information we need)
- an application form to tell us if you want to go ahead with flexible retirement.
You’ll need to tell us
- whether you’d like to swap any pension for a lump sum
- if you’ve an in-house AVC, whether you’ve agreed to go to a Pension Wise appointment
- your bank details.
You’ll need to send us
- a copy of your birth certificate or passport
- your pension claim forms
- any certificates that we’ve asked for.
You’ll be paid
- on the last working day of every month If you’re with the Cambridgeshire Pension Fund
- on the 25th of the month if you’re with the Northamptonshire Pension Fund.
Once we’ve got your completed forms, we aim to set up your pension within 5 working days. If you’re taking a lump sum, we aim to pay this within 10 working days of getting your completed forms. Or the day after retirement, if later.
These timings may take longer if you’ve an in-house AVC or you’re affected by the annual or lifetime allowance. You should take this into account when deciding how much notice to give.
You can still pay in if you want to
You can continue paying into the LGPS, on your reduced hours or grade to build up more pension. If you’d prefer not to, then you can opt out. Please let your employer know before you take flexible retirement. They can then make sure that no contributions are taken. Please don’t opt out before you flexibly retire. This could lead to your flexible retirement being refused.
You can appeal against any decision made by your employer
As a member of the LGPS you can appeal against any decision made by your employer. This includes whether your flexible retirement application is approved. Please see our disputing an employer decision page.
