These are the earnings on which we base your premium pension. Your final pensionable earnings will be whichever is the best of:
your last 12 months’ pensionable earnings; or
your highest pensionable earnings in any of the last four complete scheme years; or
your highest average pensionable earnings in any period of three complete scheme years during the last 13 years ending on your last day of service.
A scheme year is the period from 1 April to 31 March.
We will take account of rises in the cost of living in making the comparison.
The death in service lump sum is based on the best of your permanent pensionable earnings in the last 12 months and the best of one of the last two scheme years. We will not make any adjustment for inflation when making the comparison.
This is the limit to the amount of tax privileged pension benefits a member can draw over their lifetime before they incur a tax charge.
The Scheme Administrator (MyCSP)
This is the organisation that holds your pension records and administers your pension on your employer’s behalf, including working out and arranging pension payments.
The partnership pension account is a defined contribution pension arrangement. Members of the partnership scheme do not have to contribute but their employer will.
Pension age
This is the earliest age at which you can choose to receive immediate payment of your premium pension without reduction (in most cases, this is 60).
Pensionable bonuses
Bonus payments do not usually count towards your pension unless your employer has agreed that they can.
Pensionable earnings
These are all earnings which could count towards your pension. They can include non-cash items, for example, uniforms or accommodation.
Preserved benefits
We will hold (preserve) the pension benefits you have built up if you leave the scheme before pension age and have decided not to transfer them to another pension scheme. (We will only do this if you have built up more than two years’ qualifying service.)
Qualifying service
Generally, this is the number of years and days you have been a member of the Scheme, and it qualifies you for certain benefits.
Reckonable service
The service that counts towards a pension. Part- time service counts on the basis of the hours you have worked. Unpaid absences such as strike days or career breaks do not count towards your pension.
Scheme actuary
The scheme actuary provides actuarial advice to the scheme.
State Second Pension (S2P)
The additional State pension (on top of the basic State Retirement Pension) that used to be called State Earnings-Related Pension (SERPS). The amount you receive depends on your National Insurance contributions. Please note – this ended on 5 April 2016.
Transfer value
The value of accumulated pension rights within a pension scheme that may be used to transfer benefits from that scheme to another pension scheme.
