We’ll automatically contact you 6 months before the age you have told us you want to retire (this is known as your Target Retirement Age). If you’ve decided to take your savings before we have contacted you, you’ll need to get in touch with us directly and let us know your chosen retirement date.
Once you have confirmed your chosen retirement date, we’ll send you a retirement pack to explain your options and the steps you need to take.
You can find out more info about how you can take your savings here.
Your Target Retirement Age does not have to tie in with your contract of employment and you can take benefits at any age from 55 if you want to. If you’re still paying into the Scheme, you’ll need to let your employer know so they can make arrangements to stop payments into your TPT savings pot, and so there aren’t any delays in arranging your options. Taking your money from TPT does not mean you have to stop working, but you will not get any further employer contributions to your pension unless you are re-enrolled into the Scheme at a future date.
If you haven’t already, it may be the right time to talk to a financial adviser. You can find more info about how a financial adviser could help here.
Remember: if you take your TPT savings but continue to be employed by the same company connected to your TPT savings, you will need to be assessed against the auto-enrolment criteria at your employer’s re-enrolment date. And, if assessed as an eligible worker you must be re-enrolled into the Scheme. You can then choose to opt out if you so wish, but only after you have been re-enrolled. Please note, however, that once you have started taking any pension savings, your Annual Allowance (the maximum you can save with tax benefits each year) may be replaced by the Money Purchase Annual Allowance, which is currently £4,000 a year. If more than this is paid to your pension(s), you will incur a tax charge.