In this episode, Rob and Emily are joined by Andy Jones, Engagement Manager for Civil Service and Royal Mail Pensions in the Cabinet Office, and Jane Bates, Head of Life Events at MyCSP. They discuss what happens to your pension if you leave the Civil Service or opt out of the scheme.
We know that the vast majority of members stay in the scheme after they are auto-enrolled by their employer, but a small number opt out. We talk to Andy about some of the factors that may drive people to leave the scheme, such as other financial priorities, investing in property instead, or people simply not planning for their retirement.
We discuss how the decisions you make while working can have an impact on your retirement finances. Our online tools can help members understand their pension and how it builds up over time – log on to the Pension Portal, look at your Annual Benefit Statements and play around with the Retirement Modeller.
Andy and Jane also highlight the invaluable support available to your loved ones in the event of your death. There's also a route to access your pension early, in certain circumstances, if you become too ill to work.
Jane’s team works hard to ensure members understand what they're giving up by opting out to ensure they're making an informed decision. They also offer an alternative to opting out, which is the partnership scheme. This is a defined contribution scheme where you can choose how much you contribute without missing out on employer contributions.
You can listen to the episode using the embedded player on this page, or by searching Civil Service Pension Podcast wherever you get your podcasts.
