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Age Retirement

classic

What do I get when I retire?
You will get a pension and lump sum. Your pension is based on 1/80 of your final pensionable pay for each year of reckonable service. Reckonable Service is based on the years you actually worked so if you worked part time eg 2.5 days per week you would build up 0.5 years of reckonable service. Your lump sum is 3 times your yearly pension. Under current law this is tax free. This lump sum will be reduced if there are any outstanding contributions towards widows and dependants due.

classic plus

What do I get when I retire?
You get:
  • a pension and lump sum as in classic for your service before 1st October 2002; that is pension based on 1/80 of your final pensionable pay for each year of reckonable service; and a tax-free lump sum of 3 times your pension.
  • a pension and optional lump sum as in premium for your service from 1st October 2002, a pension based on 1/60 of your final pensionable pay for each year of reckonable service and if you want a lump sum, you can exchange some pension for that lump sum. We will give you £12 of lump sum for each £1 of yearly pension you give up.

premium

What do I get when I retire?
You will get a pension based on 1/60 of your final pensionable pay for each year of your reckonable service. A lump sum is optional. If you want a lump sum, you have to give up (commute) part of your pension. The commutaion rate is 12:1 so we will give you £12 of lump sum for each £1 of yearly pension you give up.

partnership

What pension will I get?
The amount of your pension will depend on:
  • the amount of money that both you and your employer contribute each month
  • the investment returns that your pension provider achieves in the fund (or funds) you choose
  • the annuity rate which is used to convert your pension pot into a monthly income when you retire.
Under current legislation, you can draw your partnership pension at any time between the ages of 50 and 75, it does not have to be when you ‘retire’ from the Northern Ireland Civil Service (NICS). When you draw your pension, you can choose to take up to 25% of your pension pot as a tax-free lump sum. When you come to retire, you will need to turn your pension pot into an income for life – a pension. This is known as an annuity. For more information about buying an annuity, see the ‘partnership pension account’ booklet (link listed below under 'find out more').

Lifetime Allowance (LTA)

The LTA is the total value of all your private and work pensions, but not any state pension, which you can build up without paying extra tax. Just before you start receiving your pension benefits we will ask you about any other pensions you have so that they can work out whether you have enough LTA left to take your benefits without having to pay extra tax. Your Principal Civil Service Pension Scheme (Northern Ireland) [PCSPS(NI)] pension cannot be put into payment until you have declared your other pensions, if any. Most people will not get anywhere near the LTA. You can find more information about LTA in the Pensions and Tax section or read the pensions and tax booklet listed below under 'find out more'.
Other Information
Widow’s or Widower’s Pension Scheme Refunds
You may be due a refund of most or part of your contributions if you are single on retirement and you are in the Classic or Classic Plus Schemes - please go to the WPS Refunds section to find out more. There are no refunds payable under Premium.

The following options are also available on retirement:-

  • inverse commutation – where you may choose to give up all or part of your lump sum in return for an increase in your pension.
  • allocation of pension – where you have the option to give up part of your pension to provide benefits for another person
If you are interested in any of these options they are explained in greater detail in the booklets listed below.

Find out more

If you would like more information on what benefits you would be entitled to on retirement please read the following booklets or leaflets listed below:
Please click on the links below for further information, which is available on this site.
All booklets and leaflets can be found in the resources section.
If you would like more information please contact Member Administration Section. You can find their number in the contact us section.
The leaflets and booklets displayed above are PDF documents. In order to view them you will need Adobe PDF reader. If it isn't already installed on your computer you can download it from here.