Frequently Asked Questions
for deferred members
(DB Section only)
If you joined the Fund prior to 1 April 2002 your normal retirement age under the Fund is your 60th birthday.
If you joined the Fund on or after 1 April 2002 your normal retirement age under the Fund is your 65th birthday.
Under current legislation the earliest age you can start drawing your pension is age 55 but the government has announced that the minimum retirement age will be increasing to age 57 from April 2028. If you draw your pension before your normal retirement date it would be reduced by an actuarial factor for early payment.
Yes, your deferred pension will be increased annually between your date of leaving pensionable service with Imperial and your normal retirement date (or earlier date of retirement) in accordance with the Rules of the Fund for your section of membership.
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This is the minimum pension the Fund must provide you with once you reach GMP payment age, which is 60 for women and 65 for men.
The Fund was contracted-out of the old additional earnings component of the State Pension scheme, which used to be known as the State Earnings-Related Pension Scheme (SERPS). If you were an employee member of the Fund between 6th April 1978 and 5th April 1997 you would have been contracted-out of SERPS and as a result the Fund must provide you with a GMP. Your GMP will be roughly equal to the Additional State Pension you would have built up had you not joined the Fund.
The GMP element of your deferred pension will increase or “revalue” at a different rate from the rest of your Fund pension. The applicable rate will depend upon the date you left pensionable service.
If you are married or have a civil partner a pension would be paid to your surviving spouse for the remainder of their lifetime. Child allowances may also be payable if you have children in full time education or younger.
If you are not married but have a partner you could nominate them to receive any spouse's pension payable. If you are not married and leave no dependants then a refund of any contributions you paid to the Fund plus interest to your date of death would be paid to your personal legal representative dealing with your estate.
If you have a partner or financial dependant that you have cohabitated with for at least two years you may nominate them for a dependant's pension by completing a nominated dependant's application form and sending it to the Pension Fund Office. Your application will then be referred to the Trustee of the Fund for a decision. The Pension Fund Office will notify you if your application is approved or not.
If you wish to transfer the value of your deferred pension to another pension scheme you should write to the Imperial Pension Fund Office who will provide you with your current transfer value and the relevant documentation to effect a transfer.
This may be possible if you have a small deferred pension that has a total cash value of £30,000 or less.
Most members should be able to exchange part of their pension for a tax-free cash sum on retirement but there will be some exceptions to this (for example, if your pension consists of GMP only).
