Deferred benefits faqs I think I may have deferred benefits with you but I’m not sure. How do I find out? Can I still transfer my benefits out, even if I requested deferred benefits when I left? What happens if I do not complete the option form? What happens if I re-join the Scheme at a later date? I have several separate sets of deferred benefits. Can I join them all to my new current membership? Should I keep my deferred benefits separate or transfer them to count with my new membership?

I think I may have deferred benefits with you but I’m not sure. How do I find out?
Please get in touch with us, and we will look into it for you. You can either do this by filling in a Tracing Your Benefits on-line form or by calling our Helpline.

Tracing your benefits online form

Can I still transfer my benefits out, even if I requested deferred benefits when I left?
  Yes – even if you asked for deferred benefits when you left, you can ask to transfer them out at some point in the future. But if you have reached (or are close to) retirement age a transfer may not be possible. In this case please call our Helpline.

Also, some schemes restrict inward transfers, so speak to your new scheme to see if they will accept a transfer and if there are any time limits.

What happens if I do not complete the option form?
When you leave employment your employer will provide you with a leaver’s option form, which will give you information about the possible choices you have. If you don’t fill this is in, then we will automatically give you deferred benefits as long as you have built up three months membership or more. Remember, you can still ask to transfer these benefits out in the future if you wish.

What happens if I re-join the Scheme at a later date?
If you re-join the Scheme, you will begin to build up membership towards a new set of pension benefits, in addition to your deferred benefits. You will usually have the option of keeping these two sets of benefits separate or joining them together to form just one set of benefits. You normally only have 12 months from the date you join to choose to link your deferred membership to your new membership, so you should find out about this as soon as possible.

I have several separate sets of deferred benefits. Can I join them all to my new current membership?
You must be within 12 months of joining the Fund in order to transfer any benefits. Which previous benefits you can transfer will then depend on when they were awarded to you and whether you have had the option to transfer them in the past on not.

Please call our Helpline to find out more.

Should I keep my deferred benefits separate or transfer them to count with my new membership?

Keeping your deferred benefits separate: If you do this, you will build up new benefits with your new job, so you will have two sets of benefits. Your deferred benefits will be worked out using the membership and final pay when you left plus any inflation due from the date you left up to the date that we pay them to you. The benefits from your new job will be worked out using the membership you have built up in this job and your final pay when you leave or retire.

Linking your deferred benefits: If you transfer your deferred benefits to count with the membership in your new job, you will have only one set of benefits and these will be worked out using the total membership you have built up in both jobs and the final pay in your new job. However, if you were to leave within 12 months of starting your new job, your final pay figure would be worked out using some of the pay from your previous job.

If your pay in your new job is higher or is likely to be higher than the pay your deferred benefits are based on (plus any inflation increases), then transferring your membership may produce the best results. But if you think your pay in your new job is unlikely to end up higher, you may want to leave your deferred benefits separate.

There are several other things to bear in mind, including:

• If there is a big gap between the two jobs, your current benefits may have a later retirement age than your deferred benefits. If you transfer your earlier membership you might end up with a later retirement age for this too
• If you die before you retire, the benefits would be different – for example if you keep your deferred benefits separate, we would work out two separate lump sums
• You can decide to transfer within the first 12 months of joining, but not normally after this

Transferring membership or benefits into the Fund

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