CPS - Retirement (Including Flexible Retirement)

On this page you can find-

Retirement Age

The scheme's standard retirement age is 65 but you are not obliged to retire at this age.

The latest that your pension can be brought into payment is currently age 75.

The earliest that your pension can be brought into payment is currently age 55 aside from cases of ill health or incapacity. This minimum age is increasing to 57 with effect from 06 April 2028. If you choose to bring your pension into payment before age 65 than an early retirement reduction may apply depending on when you joined the scheme.

Members who qualify for ill health or incapacity retirement can access their pension early without any penalties and may qualify for enhancements to their pension.

For further information please see the Retirement Factsheets.

Early Retirement Reductions

If you joined the scheme on 01/12/2009 or later then, aside from cases of ill health or incapacity, you will need to be age 65 to claim your pension without any early retirement reduction.

If you joined the scheme before 01/12/2009 and elected to pay the additional 3.5% contribution then, aside from cases of ill health or incapacity, you will need to be age 60 to claim your pension without any early retirement reduction.

If you joined the scheme before 01/12/2009 and have been paying the standard contributions then, aside from cases of ill health or incapacity, you will need to be age 60 to claim your final salary pension without any early retirement reduction and age 63 to claim your CRB pension without any early retirement reduction. Please note that if you have both final salary pension and CRB pension accrued as part of a continuous membership then both parts of your pension must come into payment at the same time.

For further information please see the Retirement Factsheets.

Claiming Your Pension

For flexible retirement please click here and for ill health or incapacity retirement please contact our office for details of the medical evidence that will be required. The steps for claiming your CPS pension (aside from cases of flexible retirement and ill health or incapacity retirement) are as follows-

1. Formally notify the Pensions Office of your intention to retire. Ideally we ask for three months notice of your intended retirement date but depending on the circumstances we may be able to proceed with less notice.

If possible please notify us by emailing our office at: pensionsonline@admin.cam.ac.uk

Alternatively you can notify us by writing to our office at: Pensions Administration, Greenwich House, Madingly Road, Cambridge, CB3 0TX

2. In the month leading up to your retirement date we will send you your retirement paperwork.

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.

3. Alongside completing the two forms discussed above we will also need you to provide either your passport or your driving licence. 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 or driving licence 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, dates of birth and signatures on the scans or photographs can be read clearly.

Flexible Retirement

It is now possible to bring your pension into payment without leaving your employment. If this is of interest to you then please see the FAQs and factsheets below-

Flexible Retirement Frequently Asked Questions

Flexible Retirement Factsheet For Members Who Joined Before 01/01/2013

Flexible Retirement Factsheet For Members Who Joined On or After 01/01/2013

If you would like to make a request for flexible retirement, please complete and send the letter found here to the Pensions Section. However, if you are taking flexible retirement and looking to change your role you will also need to complete the RP4 form found on the HR website here and discuss the revised working arrangements with your institution to seek approval.

For further details on retirement procedures, please see the Retirement Policy on the HR website here.

HMRC Lump Sum Allowances

From 06 April 2024 the UK Government has introduced two new allowances which place limits on the total amount of certain pension lump sums that members can receive tax free. These allowances are the lump sum allowance (set at £268,275) and the lump sum and death benefit allowance (set at £1,073,100).

There are transitional arrangements for also factoring in benefits received prior to 06 April 2024 when checking that a member has sufficient allowance remaining to receive a tax free pension commencement lump sum from this scheme.

You can see the questions that you will need to answer for us to assess your remaining allowance here.

There is also information at: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/find-out-the-rules-around-individual-lump-su...

Retirement Benefits From AVCs

Members of the Final Salary (later CRB) section who took out money-purchase AVC policies with the Cambridge Building Society will be able to exercise a choice of what happens with the fund value at retirement. Full details will be provided with your retirement statement.

Any additional membership purchased by an added-years AVC (available for Final Salary members only) will be shown on your retirement statement.

Members of the Hybrid section who paid AVCs will need to contact SEI Capita directly, as this only affects your pension with the Cambridge University Assistants Defined Contribution Pension Scheme.