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10.
LEAVING THE SCHEME
This Section describes the benefits you will receive if you leave the GFTU's employment or
opt to terminate your membership of the Scheme. The benefits you will receive depend on
how long you have been a member of the Scheme. The length of your membership, for these
purposes, is your Qualifying Service which includes the credit that you are given if you
transfer benefits from another pension scheme to the Scheme.
If you have two years Qualifying Service or more
You will be entitled to a pension payable from your Normal Retirement Age which will be
preserved in the Scheme for you. This will be calculated as described in Section 7, but based
on your Pensionable Service to, and Pensionable Pay at, your date of leaving.
Before the payment of your pension begins, the pension will be increased in accordance with
legislative requirements to take account of inflation between the date you left and Normal
Retirement Age (or should you die before your Normal Retirement Age, to the date of your
death). Revaluation increases are applied for complete years between the date when your
Pensionable Service ends and the date when your pension commences. Part years are ignored.
The index used to measure inflation for these purposes is the Retail Prices Index (RPI) for
Benefits earned for Pensionable Service up to 1 June 2011, and the Consumer Prices Index
(CPI) for Benefits earned for Pensionable Service on or after 1 June 2011.
The increase added is subject to a cap. It is:
5% for any pension you earned before 6 April 2009 and
2.5% for any pension you earned on and after that date.
You should note that this revaluation increase does not apply to any pension benefits that you
have built up by paying AVCs: these will increase in line with the arrangements that you
make when you start paying AVCs.
Your preserved pension will normally be paid at your Normal Retirement Age but you may,
with the consent of the Trustees, draw it before then if:
You have reached the age of 55 years. If you were already a member on 5 April 2005,
when the law on this issue was changed, and had the right to retire with a pension below
the age of 55 then it is possible that the right to retire below age 55 still applies to you. If
you think that this is the case, and you want to retire before age 55, then you should
contact the Trustees.
If you are over the age of 60 you do not need consent to draw your pension, but if you
are under that age you will need the consent of the Trustees.