Retiring / Claiming Your Pension
On this page you can find-
At what age can I claim my CCFPS pension?
Can I claim my CCFPS pension from age 60 without any early retirement reduction?
What is the procedure for claiming my CCFPS pension if I am still contributing to the scheme?
What documents and information will I need to provide?
At what age can I claim my CCFPS pension?
The scheme's standard retirement age is 65.
Government legislation currently allows pensions to be brought into payment from age 55 however an early retirement reduction will be applied if your pension is brought into payment before age 60 and depending on your circumstances an early retirement reduction may be applied if your pension is brought into payment before age 65 (see below for further details).
This minimum age is increasing from 55 to 57 with effect from 6 April 2028.
There is no obligation to bring your pension into payment by age 65. Under the current scheme rules the latest that you can bring your pension into payment is age 75.
If you are still contributing to the scheme then there are separate rules that may be applicable to you in the case of serious ill-health or incapacity. For information on this please speak to your College's HR department or contact our office.
Can I claim my CCFPS pension from age 60 without any early retirement reduction?
There are two circumstances in which you can claim your CCFPS pension from age 60 without any early retirement reduction being applied:
1. If all of your service in the CCFPS was prior to 01 April 2004.
2. If your service in the CCFPS commenced before 01 April 2004 and your CCFPS pension is in one of the following sections of the scheme: Darwin, Emmanuel, Girton, Hughes Hall, King's, Newnham, Pembroke, Peterhouse, Selwyn, St John's, Wolfson.
If you are not covered by either of these circumstances then you will need to be age 65 or above to claim your CCFPS pension without any early retirement reduction being applied.
What is the procedure for claiming my CCFPS pension if I am no longer contributing to the scheme and have a preserved pension?
If you have already ceased contributing to the scheme and we are holding a preserved pension for you then you simply need to let us know in writing or by email the date that you would like to claim your pension. You can notify us by email to pensionsonline@admin.cam.ac.uk or in writing to Pensions Administration, Greenwich House, Madingley Road, Cambridge, CB3 0TX.
In the month leading up to your pension commencement date we will send you details of your options and some forms to complete. We will also require ID documents and information about any pensions you have with other schemes (see below for further details of these requirements).
What is the procedure for claiming my CCFPS pension if I am still contributing to the scheme?
If you are planning to retire from your employment at your College then please ensure that you speak to your College's HR department for details of your College's retirement policies and procedures. Your College will usually inform us of your retirement plans but it is useful if you also contact us directly to let us know that you are intending to claim your CCFPS pension. You can notify us by email to pensionsonline@admin.cam.ac.uk or in writing to Pensions Administration, Greenwich House, Madingley Road, Cambridge, CB3 0TX.
If you are interested in claiming your CCFPS pension whilst continuing to be employed by your College then please discuss this with your College's HR department as you will need your College's consent.
Your earnings through to the final date that you contribute to the scheme will affect your CCFPS benefits. We are therefore unable to provide you with your options until your College has completed their payroll for the month in which you make your final contributions.
Once we have received your payroll data for your final month of contributing to the scheme we will send you details of your options and some forms to complete. We will also require ID documents and information about any pensions you have with other schemes, (see below for further details of these requirements).
To give a typical example, for a retirement date of 31 March we are likely to get the final payroll data from the College around one week before the end of March. We aim to send the retirement options and forms to the member within one week of receiving this payroll data from the College, so typically this paperwork will be sent to the member before the end of March. We then hope to receive the completed forms and requested documents from the member within the first two weeks of April in order to ensure that we can set up the monthly pension for payment on the last working day of April.
What documents and information will I need to provide?
The paperwork that you will be sent will include a retirement options form on which you can choose whether or not to exchange a part of your annual pension for a one off tax free lump sum. This form will also ask you for your bank account details for your pension payments. It is a requirement that you have a bank account in your own name (or a joint bank account where you are one of the named account holders).
The paperwork that you will be sent will also include a Lump Sum Allowance and Lump Sum and Death Benefit Allowance form on which you will need to answer some questions about your membership of other pension schemes. You can see the form here if you wish to see the questions that you will be asked and prepare the information required. There is also an explanation on the form as to why we require this information.
Alongside completing the two forms discussed above we will also need you to provide either your passport, your driving licence, or your birth certificate. If you are married or in a civil partnership then it is also useful if you can provide your marriage / civil partnership certificate and your spouse / civil partner's passport, driving licence, or birth certificate so that we can ensure our records are up to date. Likewise, if you were previously in a marriage or civil partnership that has ended please provide us with a copy of the relevant documentation so that we can update our records. We can accept scans or photographs of these documents but please check that the names and dates of birth on the scans or photographs can be read clearly.