Who can join the scheme?
The Combined Pension Scheme of the UKAEA is open to employees
of the UKAEA, British Nuclear Fuels plc,The Civil Nuclear Police Authority and some employees
of the Health Protection Agency, who were formerly employed
by the National Radiological Protection Board.
If I join the UKAEA pension scheme, how much do I contribute?
Click here to access details
about contributions to the scheme
How much does my employer contribute?
Your basic Scheme contribution rate does not normally vary, but
your employer is required to make contributions at whatever rate
is needed to meet the cost of providing your benefits.
If I choose not to have a UKAEA pension, will my employer
give me more salary instead?
No
Can I increase my pension contributions?
You can pay additional contributions to purchase Added Years of
service in the Combined Pension Scheme or you can contribute to
the Group Additional Voluntary Contribution Scheme with the Prudential
Assurance Company.
What are the main benefits available from the UKAEA pension
scheme?
Click here to access details
about benefits
What will my wife/husband receive in the event of my death?
This will depend on your circumstances and whether or not you are
still a contributing member of the UKAEA pension scheme. For details
of death benefit please either:-
Can I join the UKAEA pension scheme and have a stakeholder
pension as well?
Yes, provided that you earn no more than £30,000. If you
earn more than £30,000 now, but you earned less than £30,000
in one of the previous five tax years (but not counting any tax
years before 2000/01), you may be able to contribute to a stakeholder
pension as well.
How long does a transfer in of benefits from a previous
pension provider take?
The length of time for a transfer varies depending on the type
of scheme and the time taken by the administrators of the previous
pension arrangement to provide information to the Pensions Administration
Office, Thurso.
Why is my deferred award not added to my current period
of service on my benefits statement?
At the time your deferred pension is due to be paid or at the
end of your re-employment, whichever is earlier, you will have
the choice
of either aggregating the two periods of service or retaining
two separate awards. In most cases aggregating the award
will be more favourable
as most members will have increased pensionable final earnings
since they were awarded deferred benefits. However, in exceptional
cases, the
pensionable final earnings
used to calculate the preserved award may be higher than the
pension award at retirement.
How does part-time work effect my pension benefits?
Your scheme benefits will reflect the actual hours you have worked.
For calculating retirement benefits for periods of part-time working
the full time equivalent salary is used in calculating the pensionable
final earnings. The service is prorated as a fraction of the normal
contractual hours worked by an equivalent full time member. For
example if you worked part-time for 20 hours each week and the full
time contractual hours for someone in the same grade were 37 hours
per week, the calculation would be based on 20 hours divided by
37 hours. If you joined the scheme at age 35 and retired at age
60, having been in the pension scheme for 25 years working part-time,
your reckonable service at retirement would be 13 years 187 days
(25 x 20/37 = 13 years 187 days service).
For members who work part-time hours, the death in service lump
sum benefit is calculated using the highest twelve months actual
pensionable earnings during the last three years of service rather
than the full time equivalent pensionable final earnings.
I am about to get divorced, how does this effect my pension?
If you would like further information about the affect of divorce
on pensions, please click here.
Can I work beyond my scheme retirement age?
Working beyond contractual retirement age is at the discretion
of your employer.
Can I still contribute to the Scheme even if I have resigned
from employment?
No, it is not possible to continue to contribute to the Scheme
once your employment with an employer who participates in the UKAEA
pension scheme has ceased.
Can I get information on the current value of my deferred
benefits?
As a UKAEA deferred pensioner you may view your own pension benefits
by clicking on the “my pension” button. You will need
to obtain a personal identification number from the Pensions
Administration Office, Thurso.
Can I get early access to my deferred benefits?
Deferred benefits are payable on reaching scheme retirement age.
They may however be paid earlier but only in cases of ill health
and exceptionally on compassionate grounds for members over age
50.
What if I received a return of my UKAEA pension contribution
in respect of service prior to 1978 and I have a GPF 253 certificate
from either Yorkshire General or the General Accident insurance
company?
Click here for further information about return of contributions prior
to April 1978 (Yorkshire General/General Accident)
I have received a forecast from the DWP regarding my State
pension and I do not understand the additional pension related to
contracted out earnings, which they indicate should be paid by you.
Since April 1978 the state retirement pension has been made up
of two parts:
- the basic pension and, for some individuals
- the Second State Pension (S2P)
The basic pension is based on the individual’s National Insurance
contribution record and is paid by the Department of Work and Pensions
(formerly the DSS). The Second State Pension is based on an individual’s
earnings.
An occupational pension scheme can contract its membership out
of the Second State Pension. Members who are contracted-out of the
Second State Pension pay lower National Insurance contributions.
Contracted-out schemes like the UKAEA pension schemes must provide
each member with a minimum level of occupational pension. This minimum
level of pension which the UKAEA pension schemes are liable to provide
for pensionable service before 6 April 1997 is called the Guaranteed
Minimum Pension (GMP).
The GMP is paid as part of the pension benefit in the UKAEA pension
schemes not as a separate benefit.
When will my pension be paid into the bank?
The pension is normally paid to your account on the last working
day of the month, except during December, when payment will be made
earlier.
Can I give you Bank details/change of address over the
phone?
No, it is an audit requirement that this information must be given
in writing. Click here to
obtain a Notification of change of address/bank or building society
form
Can you pay my pension abroad?
If you live abroad your pension payments can be paid directly to
banks overseas using the Transcontinental Automated Payment Services
(TAPS). This payment method eliminates the need to pay through intermediate
bank branches in the United Kingdom thus reducing any incurring
bank charges.
Please contact the Pensions Administration Office, Thurso for a
leaflet regarding
the TAPS system.
To claim UK tax exemption you should write to the following address:-
Financial Intermediaries and Claims Office
Fitz Roy House
PO Box 46
Nottingham
NG2 1BD
Telephone number: 0115 974 2127
My tax code has changed, why you not using my new code?
If you have any queries regarding the tax on your UKAEA pension,
you should contact the HM Revenue and Customs office at the following address
quoting the reference number 961/930210X and your own personal National
Insurance number:-
HM Inspector of Taxes
Centre 1
East Kilbride, Glasgow G79 1AA
Telephone number: 01355 275000
or telephone the Call Centre on 0845 0703 703 (local rate) from
8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday to Friday.
The Pensions Administration Office, Thurso must deduct tax from
your pension in accordance with the tax code supplied by H M Inspector
of Taxes.
Why have I not received a pay advice slip?
A payslip will be sent when your pension is first paid. Thereafter
a payslip will normally only be sent to you when there is a change
in your net pay of more than £1 except in April and May of
each year when you will receive a payslip detailing the amount of
the pensions increase.
Why have I not yet received my P60?
You will also receive a P.60 certificate for tax purposes normally
towards the end of May each year.
How much will my pension increase by this year and who
determines the increase?
All pensions payable from the UKAEA pension schemes keep pace with
inflation. Presently increases are applied annually in April in
line with the rise in the Retail Prices Index (RPI).
For details of this year’s increase, please click
here
Why have I not received the full pensions increase?
If your pension from the UKAEA scheme started during the year prior
to the increase, your pension will be increased by one twelfth of
the percentage increase for each completed month in the period between
the start date of the pension and the date of the increase.
Depending on when your pensionable service occurred, the pension
increase may be partly paid for by the Department of Work and Pensions
(formerly the DSS) and partly by the UKAEA scheme. If your pension
is based wholly or partly on service between 6 April 1978 and 5
April 1997, then your UKAEA scheme pension may include a guaranteed
minimum amount to cover this period when the UKAEA scheme was contracted
out of the State Earnings Related Pension Scheme (SERPS). This amount
is called the Guaranteed Minimum Pension (GMP), and for public service
scheme pensions such as those under the UKAEA scheme the pension
increases on GMPs earned up to and including 5 April 1988, will
be paid by the Department of Work and Pensions. However, the UKAEA
pension scheme is required to increase any GMPs earned from 6 April
1988 until 5 April 1997 (when GMPs ceased to accrue) by the lower
of inflation or 3 per cent. Pension Increases above 3 per cent will
normally be paid by the Department of Work and Pensions. Pension
increases paid by the Department of Work and Pensions on the guaranteed
minimum pension are paid with your State Retirement Pension, State
widow’s, widower’s, or invalidity pension and not with
your UKAEA scheme pension. Any pensions increase due on the balance
of your UKAEA pension will be paid by the Pensions Administration
Office, Thurso. The total amount of pension increases will add up
to the total percentage increase, but may be paid from two different
sources, the Department of Work and Pensions and PAO Thurso.
How much will my pension reduce by when I reach state
pension age?
For details of Modification
of Pensions.
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