Partial retirement allows active pension scheme members to take some or all of their pension and tax-free lump sum and continue working. This means you can reduce your working hours or pay and have a combination of pay and pension until you fully retire. During this period, you can also build up more pension that will be paid when you fully retire.

You can choose how much of your pension to take at partial retirement – any pension you don’t use at this stage will be paid when you fully retire.

Partial retirement is available to all pension scheme members who meet the following criteria:

  • You’ve agreed with your employer to reshape your job by reducing your pay by at least 20% (by either reducing your working hours or your pay)
  • You apply for partial retirement no more than 3 months after reshaping your job
  • You’re over minimum pension age for your pension scheme:
    • classic and classic plus – 50
    • Premium if you joined before 06/04/2006 - 50
    • Premium if you joined after 06/04/2006 – 55
    • Nuvos and alpha – 55

If you claim your pension before pension age, it will be reduced for early payment.

For more information and examples to see if partial retirement is right for you, read our Guide to Partial Retirement.  

 

Step by step guide to partial retirement

4 months before your planned partial retirement date you must agree with your employer to reduce your salary by at least 20%, by either reducing your hours or your pay. You must apply for partial retirement no more than 3 months after your job is reshaped, and confirm the date with your employer of when your partial retirement will begin.

Use the partial retirement calculator to see how taking partial retirement will affect your income.

Complete Section A of the partial retirement application form and send it to your employer.

Your employer will complete Section B and send it to us to request a partial retirement quote.

2 months before your partial retirement date we’ll send you a quote of your pension options, an option form and a claim form.

For those members impacted by 2015 Remedy (McCloud), it will also include a choice about how you would like part of your benefits to be calculated.

You should complete and return your forms as soon as possible.

Any lump sum due should be paid shortly after your partial retirement date into the bank account you provided in your claim form. You’ll get a statement confirming how much your partial retirement pension lump sum will be, and when you’ll receive it.

Your pension will begin 1 month after your partial retirement date. It’s paid monthly in arrears, unless you are subject to full abatement.

Find out more about abatement

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Published:
7 December 2021
Last updated:
28 September 2023
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