How, and when, you can take your benefits
When you retire, you will be entitled to an annual pension, and a one-off, tax-free, lump sum.
There are also other options you can consider depending on your circumstances. These are outlined below. Please select the relevant option or the drop-down arrow to read more.
When you retire, you will be entitled to:
- an annual pension and
- a one-off, tax-free, lump sum
These are based on a proportion of your Pensionable Salary and the years of Contributing Service you have built up.
Your benefits usually come into payment at your Normal Pension Age (NPA).
If you joined the industry:
- On or after 1 April 1988, your Normal Pension Age is 63.
- Before 1 April 1988, your Normal Pension Age is 60.
You can choose to put your benefits into payment before your NPA but if you do these will be reduced for early payments – please select early retirement minimum age below to find out more.
You can find out more about your NPA and how your annual pension and one-off lump sum are calculated in your member booklet.
The booklet also includes further details about all of the additional options outlined here.
You may be able to exchange part of your pension for an additional lump sum. You can see the current conversion factors below:
This would be paid in addition to the standard lump sum you get when you retire (as outlined above).
There are some restrictions so make sure to check your member booklet and lump sum allowance information.
You may be able to exchange/convert all, or part, of your standard lump sum, for additional pension.
This option is available on request from the Scheme administrator, Railpen.
If you want to take this option, you need to let Railpen know at least 1 month before you start receiving your pension. See the taking your benefits page for more information on the application process.
Find out more in your member booklet.
If the value of your Scheme benefits are £30,000 or less, you can ask to take it all as a lump sum, if that would work better for you in retirement.
If you take this option, your entitlement to benefits under the Scheme will stop and no death benefits will be payable if you die.
The value of your Scheme benefit is your pension plus the pension equivalent of your three times annual pension lump sum.
Contact the Scheme administrator, Railpen, for further details.
You may be able to exchange part of your pension to provide additional pension for your spouse, or to provide a pension for any other dependant when you die. The person named as your dependant can be:
- your spouse
- a child, or
- any other person who was completely, or partly, financially dependent on you immediately before your death (this is at the Trustee’s discretion)
If your dependant is a child, they will not receive a dependant’s pension until they are 18 years old, unless they have a permanent disability.
Contact the Scheme administrator, Railpen, for further details.
If you’ve paid Additional Voluntary Contributions (AVCs) you have a number of options regarding when, to take them. For example, you can:
- take your AVCs at the same time as your other pension benefits
- delay taking your AVCs until after you’ve already retired (up to your 75th birthday)
- transfer your AVCs to another pension provider (this option is only available if you have left the Scheme)
You may also decide to use your AVCs in a number of different way. For example, you can use some, or all of your AVCs to:
- increase your tax-free lump sum (subject to HMRC limits)
- get a taxed lump sum (subject to tax allowances)
increase your pension - either within the Scheme (this option is only available to members who started paying AVCs before 6 April 2006) or by buying a pension (annuity) with another provider on the open market
You can find out more in the AVC guide linked below:
The earliest age that you can usually access your pension and is set by the government and is known as the Normal Minimum Pension Age (NMPA). This is currently age 55, though this is rising to age 57 from 6 April 2028.
This change will not affect your ability to take your pension earlier than these ages due to ill health, or if you qualified for an earlier Protected Pension Age (PPA).
PPAs essentially protect rights for individuals who had the right to take their benefits prior to NMPA before it increased. Which PPA may apply to you depends on the Magnox Group’s rules, your own circumstances, when you joined the Scheme, whether you are a “Protected Person” under the Electricity and Energy Acts and under which type of early retirement you may access your pension.
The below table summarises the Magnox Group’s current NMPA and PPA, how it will change from 6 April 2028 and whether any PPAs apply:
| Type of early retirement | Affected members | Current position | From 6 April 2028 |
| Flexible or voluntary early retirement | All actives and deferreds | From NMPA age 55 | From NMPA age 57 |
| Reorganisation or redundancy | Active members who:
| PPA of 50 Note: if a member does not retire immediately upon leaving then they would forfeit their PPA of 50 and the earliest they could subsequently access their pension would be age 55. | PPA of 50 Note: if a member does not retire immediately upon leaving then they would forfeit their PPA of 50 and the earliest they could subsequently access their pension would be age 57. |
| Reorganisation or redundancy | Active members who:
| From age 55 | PPA of 55 |
Types of Early retirement
There are 3 types of early retirement:
- Flexible Early Retirement – in which you choose to start taking your pension before your Normal Pension age (NPA) and continue to work for the Company. This option requires your employer’s consent so please check with your employer to see if it is available to you.
- Voluntary early retirement – in which you choose to leave the Company and retire before NPA.
- Compulsory early retirement – in which The Company, determines you must retire before NPA, this could be due to redundancy or re-organisation.
The earliest age you can retire (before your NPA) depends on the type of early retirement as described above.
If you decide to start receiving your pension before your NPA, in most circumstances it will be reduced for early payment. For more information please refer to the member booklet. To see the current early retirement factors, please refer to the Magnox - ESPS factors document.
You may be able to claim your Scheme benefits early for ill-health. This means that you are no longer able to carry out any work that the Company may reasonably offer you (taking into account your previous job role).
You will need to meet your specific criteria to qualify for ill-health retirement, and your status will need to be confirmed by the Company’s appointed medical adviser.
You can find more details about this and how your pension and lump sum will be calculated in your member booklet.
While you are an active member of the Scheme, you can choose to delay taking your benefits beyond your Normal Pension Age, this is known as late retirement.
Whether you continue to pay normal contributions, and how your benefits are calculated, depends on the date you joined the industry. This is explained more fully in your member booklet.
