As a deferred member, you are no longer working for a contributing employer but have left your benefits in the ICI Pension Fund (the Fund). On your retirement you will receive benefits from the Fund or benefits may be payable to your dependants on your death. These are called ‘deferred benefits’.
Keeping us up to date with any changes to your personal circumstances helps us pay you and your dependants the right benefits. It also means that should anything happen to you, your wishes are understood by the Trustee.
Once you’ve completed any form, please return a signed, hard copy by post to ICI Pensions Services.
The Trustee takes the security of your personal information very seriously. Therefore we require any changes to your personal details in writing with your signature to help protect you from fraud. Please note the ICI Pensions Services team will never ask you to confirm changes to your personal information over the phone or by email.
You will be entitled to receive your pension from your normal retirement age. A retirement pension quotation will usually be sent to you six months before your normal retirement age.
When you come to retire you may also have an opportunity to exchange some of your pension for a cash lump sum, which is also referred to as the Pension Commencement Lump Sum (PCLS). Please consider this carefully as you will only be offered this option as you retire – once you have started to receive your pension it is not possible to choose a lump sum, nor is it possible to change the value of your lump sum.
If you are age 50 or over, you can usually draw your pension early. To get an estimate of what you could expect to receive at retirement, taking into account your earlier pension start date please contact ICI Pensions Services. You may request up to two free quotes within a twelve-month period (there will be a charge for additional quotes).
You can start to take your pension benefits after your normal retirement age, if you wish to do so. You should contact ICI Pensions Services for more information.
Important message about potential scamming
If you wish to transfer your Fund benefits into another pension arrangement, you should contact ICI Pensions Services.
As you are currently a member of a Defined Benefit (DB) pension arrangement, we strongly advise that you seek independent financial advice before you consider transferring your benefits.
If your transfer value is £30,000 or over, you will be required to take regulated financial advice first.
You cannot transfer your benefits from other pension schemes into the Fund.
If you are a member whose marriage or civil partnership is being dissolved, your pension settlements and entitlements are generally handled through the courts. The following steps normally happen in relation to your pension:
Note: the Trustee cannot take into account any interim or informal financial arrangements in respect of your pension benefits that are not detailed in a Court Order.
Note: there are administration charges for carrying out this process – ask for a copy of charges from ICI Pensions Services.
Planning for what happens to your pension benefits in the event of your death is not something many of us like to think about. However, you should consider the benefits payable so that your wishes are understood by the Trustee.
If you die while you are a deferred member of the Fund, the benefits that may be payable can include:
Note: Benefits payable upon your death as a deferred member can vary and there may be other circumstances where the benefits that your spouse/dependant/beneficiary receives are different to those described above.
Further information on your pension benefits is available in Key benefits for former SAI Pension Fund members.