3. When would I be able to take my benefits?

The normal age for taking all your benefits would be 67

In the Collective Plan, you take your benefits – your income and your lump sum – at the same time.

The normal age for taking them is 67, but you can take them earlier, if you want to. If you take them before you’re 67, they’re reduced for early payment.

The earliest you can take them is your Minimum Pension Age. This is set by the government and is currently 55. In 2028, it will go up to 57 and then go up as the State Pension Age goes up.

If you are not working for Royal Mail when you reach 67, you need to take your income and lump sum. But if you are still working for Royal Mail, you can carry on building them up and take them later.

The normal retirement ages for RMPP and RMDCP will not change.

Frequently asked questions

If you are working for Royal Mail when the plan launches, you can either:

  • take your benefits, if you’ve reached Minimum Pension Age. This is set by the government and is currently 55. In 2028, it will go up to 57 and then go up as the State Pension Age goes up
  • transfer your benefits to a different pension arrangement
  • leave your benefits in the Plan and take them later

If you join Royal Mail after the Plan launches, you can either:

  • get a refund of the money you’ve paid into the Plan, minus tax and National Insurance contributions
  • transfer your benefits to a different pension arrangement, if you’ve been in the Plan for at least 3 months
  • If you have been making AVCs (Additional Voluntary Contributions), you would also get the value of your AVC account

To receive an income and lump sum from the Plan, you would need to build up benefits for at least 1 year.

At any time before you start taking your benefits, you can ask the Plan’s administrators to work out how much the benefits you’ve built up would be worth if you wanted to transfer them into another pension arrangement. They’ll send you a statement and if you want to go ahead and transfer out of the Plan, you can.

This is an important decision. Your pension benefits are an important part of your finances. If you transfer them to a different pension arrangement, you could end up with very different levels of income, depending on how you end up using them. That’s why we would recommend that you talk to an independent financial adviser (IFA) before you make a decision. If your transfer value would be more than £30,000, the legislation that will govern the Collective Plan may make it a legal requirement that you talk to an IFA who is qualified to deal with transfers before you do anything.