Claiming your pension - Section 05

In this section you will find an outline of various ways you can access your pension benefits at full retirement, partial retirement or due to ill-health.

This guide uses as little jargon as possible but where it has to use specific technical terms, they have been explained in plain English.

This section provides a guide to claiming your pension. But it does not cover every aspect of the scheme; full details will be set out in the regulations, which are the legal basis of the scheme.

Nothing in this guide can override the alpha regulations. We have made every effort to make this guide as accurate as possible, but in the event of any difference, the regulations will apply. This guide is based on the alpha regulations current at the time of publication and there is no guarantee that any part of the regulations will not change in the future.

You should not take anything in this section as financial advice. You might want to consider contacting an Independent Financial Adviser (IFA) to discuss your retirement planning. You can find tips on finding an IFA by visiting the Financial Conduct Authority website: www.fca.org.uk

This section explains:

05A. Thinking about retirement - Information you should find helpful if you are thinking about retirement.

05B. Partial retirement - A guide to taking partial retirement, and the benefits you could get.

05C. Full retirement - A guide to taking full retirement, and the benefits you could get.

05D. Ill-health retirement - Claiming your pension when you leave work before your Normal Pension Age because of your health.

05E. Payment of pensions - A brief guide on how to get your alpha pension put into payment.

05F. Exchanging pension for a lump sum - How much you can get, and when you can claim your lump sum.

05G. Re-employment after receiving your pension - A guide to how re-joining alpha would affect your pension in payment.