My circumstances have changed

If you need to stop work completely due to ill-health, you may be able to start taking your Fund pension and cash lump sum straight away, even if you haven’t reached your Normal Retirement Age (NRA). We call this an incapacity pension.

You won’t be given an incapacity pension automatically if you stop work due to ill-health. You must meet the criteria outlined in the Fund rules to qualify. This includes: 

• having at least 5 years membership in the Fund - please check your Member Guide to find out more. You can find this by logging into your myFund account and going to ‘My Library’.
• you are under your Normal Retirement Age (NRA)
• you apply within a year of leaving work (although the Trustee may consider your application after this time)

If you meet these criteria, your employer will arrange for you to be assessed by its occupational health provider. The Trustee will consider the medical reports and any additional evidence, including the opinion of its medical adviser, to decide if it thinks you are able to work in your current role, or any other suitable role with BTP or any other employer.

If the Trustee awards an incapcity pension, your benefits will not be reduced for their early payment. You may also be awarded an enhancement to your benefits.

If you’re under Normal Retirement Age and you return to work while claiming ill-health benefits, your pension may be reduced or suspended. When you reach NRA, your pension (including any enhancement) will be reinstated even if you carry on working. 

If you suffer from a serious illness and your life expectancy is less than 12 months, you may be able to take all your pension entitlement as a lump sum.

You can find out more about taking your pension early due to ill-health in the guide for members applying for incapacity benefits.

When the break starts all payments into your pension will stop, unless your employer makes alternative arrangements. You will also stop building up membership in the Fund until you return. Once you return to work your contributions and membership will restart automatically. Your employer may also give you the opportunity to buy additional membership to cover the length of your career break.

If you do not return to work, you will be treated as having left the Fund when the career break started.

You should speak to your employer for more information, including details about what death benefits may be payable if you die during your career break.

A court order can be made to transfer part of the value of your pension benefits during the divorce or dissolution proceedings. If this is the case, it would mean your Fund benefits will reduce to provide benefits for your ex-spouse or ex-civil partner.

For more information about divorce and your pension please go to the divorce and my pension page and check the guide for members.

That means how much you pay into your pension may also change. The amount that you pay into your pension is worked out using your full-time rate of pensionable pay for your job but is reduced for the hours you work. 

If you go part-time then you will still be entitled to the same range of benefits as your full-time colleagues. However, the amount you pay in and the amount you receive will be based on the part-time hours you work. You can find out more in guide to working part time.

If you’re leaving work entirely, your active membership of the Fund will end automatically. You can find more information on the leaving the Fund and opting out page.

If you’re part of a redundancy or voluntary severance exercise, you can find more details on what that means for your pension on the severance and redundancy page.