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Benefits of my membership

Find out more about the wide range of benefits your Fund pension offers you.

Your pension benefits

With your Fund membership, you get access to a wide range of benefits both while you're still working and once you take your pension.

While you’re working

A great way to plan for your future is to make the most of your Fund membership now.

Making the most of it while you’re still working, could put you in a better position once you retire. It’s important to understand what you’re entitled to, and the options available to aid your pension saving journey with the Fund.

Some of the benefits include:

Your employer pays in too

While you’re paying into your pension, your employer is paying in too. That means more pension benefits at no cost to you. You also benefit from tax relief on your contributions.

You can read more about tax relief on the tax limits page.

Death benefits mean you’re looking out for your loved ones

If you die before taking your pension your loved ones might get a tax-free lump sum. You can tell the Trustee who you would like to get this by making a nomination when you log in to your myFund account.

Your dependants - such as your family - may also get a pension.

For more information, please check your Member Guide, which you can find by logging into your myFund account.

You can save even more

You have the option to ‘top-up’ your main pension savings by paying Additional Voluntary Contributions (AVCs). It’s a tax-efficient way to pay extra and save more for the future.

You can find out more about AVCs and how they work on the saving more page of the website.

AVCs can be particularly helpful if you:
  • have extra earnings such as bonuses or overtime
  • are thinking about taking your benefits early (subject to eligibility), or
  • want to save a bit more towards your future

When you retire

As a Fund member...

You will get a pension for life when you stop work

It’s up to you how you choose to use it.

For example you can:

  • take part of your pension benefits as a cash lump sum and the rest as regular pension payments. You may be able to take up to 25% (but no more than £268,275) of your overall package of benefits as a tax-free cash lump sum
  • take it all as regular pension payments if the rules of your section of the Fund allow
  • in limited circumstances, take your entire benefits as a cash lump sum

It’s important that you understand the benefits and limitations of each of these options before making a decision. Find out more on the ways to take my pension page.

If you’ve been paying Additional Voluntary Contributions (AVCs) you can use the money in that pension pot to boost your pension even further. Find out more on the taking my AVC Extra page.

You can take a tax-free lump sum

The tax free lump sum that is usually payable at retirement can be no more than £268,275 — 25% of the current standard Lifetime Allowance of £1,073,100.

Tax is taken from your pension payment before you receive it, based on a tax code supplied by HMRC.

Your dependants could be entitled to death benefits

This may include:

  • a lump sum – this will depend on how long you’ve been taking your pension and whether you took a lump sum previously
  • a pension – this could be for a spouse, children or other dependant.

You can find out more on the my pension when I die page.

You can also read more about death benefits and how they are paid on the reporting a death page.