As a deferred member of the Scheme, you can choose to transfer your pension out, but there’s lots to consider, eg:
After all, transferring out of your Defined Benefit (DB) pension means you’ll be exchanging your guaranteed income for life for an amount of money to invest into a Defined Contribution (DC) pension instead. You must take appropriate independent financial advice before doing so. Remember, you have two rounds of paid for financial advice with Origen.
If you’re considering transferring, the first step is to get a transfer value and don’t make a final decision until you’ve taken independent financial advice.
If you’d like an indication of what your transfer amount could be, you can find this on PRISM. Please note this is indicative and the transfer value is not binding or guaranteed.
If you’re more seriously looking at transferring out, contact the Scheme administrator to request a transfer value. You will be issued with a quotation which is normally guaranteed for three months from the date of the calculation. Various forms will be included that you will need to complete if you proceed with the transfer. You can get one free guaranteed transfer value statement within a 12-month period. You will be charged for a second or subsequent guaranteed statement.
You should seek advice on transferring from a financial adviser as soon as possible after you receive your transfer quote. The Trustees have appointed Origen to provide advice on transfers and you have two rounds of paid for advice.
The Scheme administrator will undertake a series of checks before any transfer payment is made. This will include asking you to provide evidence that you have received advice if your transfer value is greater than £30,000.
Partial transfers are available subject to certain conditions being met. These include checking for red and amber flags. If there are red flags present, the Trustee can stop the transfer from proceeding. If there are amber flags, you will be advised you must get guidance from MoneyHelper before the transfer can go ahead.
Once the Scheme administrator has carried out these checks and can proceed, they will pay your transfer value to your chosen arrangement and confirm completion of the process to you. You will then no longer have any benefits remaining in the Scheme.
Please also check that the receiving Scheme will accept a transfer in of your NWPS DB benefits, as for most members, this will include Guaranteed Minimum Pension (GMP).
You can register on the NWPS Origen portal and enter the pin code 6873 when prompted, or contact Origen on 0800 107 4437 or email NWPS@Origenfs.co.uk
When you receive your meeting confirmation, please complete the online financial questionnaire so your adviser fully understands your personal circumstances and financial objectives. They will ask you to share a copy of the ‘Your Pension Choices’ document you received from the Scheme. If you’re unable to share this, you can give them consent to get it directly from the Scheme administrator.
Your adviser will go through your questionnaire and discuss your options in more detail. The initial appointment usually takes about an hour. There’s no such thing as a silly question, so it’s important you ask everything you want. Your adviser can answer questions on all areas of financial planning, such as:
If Origen advise you to take your benefits in the Scheme, they will issue a recommendation report and explain the option that best suits you. If the position is unclear, your adviser will discuss whether transferring out is in your best interest. They will undertake further financial analysis and issue a recommendation report on whether to transfer to access additional options like income drawdown or an enhanced annuity or to remain and either take the Scheme pension (and which option in the Scheme to take) or defer retirement. Your adviser will call you to discuss the recommendation with you. If you decide to proceed, Origen will help you with any actions required.
A DB pension gives you absolute security of a known income in retirement (like a salary when working), and this receives annual increases and cannot go down in value. Your NWPS DB Scheme provides you with:
The transfer value (or Cash Equivalent Transfer Value (CETV)) is a calculated value of your DB pension. It converts your pension in retirement from an income per year to a one-off non-taxable cash value amount. The CETV must be transferred to another approved pension scheme – it cannot be taken as cash or transferred to any other financial vehicle or product.
A DC pension is a pot of money that you’d need to manage. It would be subject to investment risk – which means the value of your money can go down as well as up – and you’d need to decide how to take your money.
DC pensions are:
Some scenarios and personal circumstances may make it more attractive for a member to consider transferring their NWPS DB pension to a DC provider. For example, not everyone is married, have children or are in the best of health (and they might be able to get impaired life annuity rates).
Change can be tempting, but it isn’t always necessary. Advice can help you work out whether a transfer is a suitable decision for your retirement plans.
