My membership
Joining is easy, your employer will enroll you, providing you meet a few criteria.
We set you up with your own account. Your account is guaranteed not to go down in value, providing you take it at age 65.
How I become a member
You usually joined from the first day you start employment, or within three months of you starting, if:
- you are aged between 22 and State Pension Age, and
- your salary is above the ‘earnings trigger’ - this is set by the Government and is reviewed every year.
This is known as ‘auto-enrolment’. Ask HR if you are unsure whether you will become a member.
Opting out
You do not have to join. You can opt-out, but it is important you consider the benefits you will lose.
If you opt-out, your employer will not pay into your pension, and you will lose your life cover. If you want to opt-out, contact us for an ‘opt out notice.’
We cannot send this to your employer, you must ask for this. This is designed to stop your employer pressuring you to opt-out. Automatic enrolment means your employer may enroll you again in the future. You can opt-out again if that happens.
Opting back in
If you change your mind after opting out, you can re-join. To opt back in, ask HR for an ‘opt-in notice.’
Transferring in
If you have other pensions from a previous employer, or you have a personal pension you can move these into CAPF DC if you want to.
How do I transfer in?
The first step is to ask your other pension provider for a ‘transfer pack’. Your pack will include your transfer value, which is the amount of money they will pay into CAPF DC, and the forms to complete the transfer. There will be forms for you to sign, and forms for us to sign. Send these to use if we need to sign anything.
Transferring defined contribution pensions
You are welcome to move other pensions into CAPF DC, but before you do this, check any fees your other pension provider charge to move your pension.
Transferring defined benefit pensions
If your other pensions are ‘defined benefit’ pensions, and the value is more than £30,000 you must take advice from a qualified financial adviser who specialises in pension transfers before moving this. This is because you are likely to give up valuable guarantees if you transfer, and an adviser can help explain whether it is worth doing this.
How my pension pot works
You build up a pension pot which is yours to take when you are ready. The earliest you can access your pension is 55, but this is rising to 57 from April 2028.
The money in your pension pot is invested in various assets, such as stocks and shares. The value of your pension pot can go up or down depending on the performance of these investments.
When you reach retirement, you can start taking money from your pension pot. You can take up to 25% of your pot as a tax-free lump sum, and the rest can be used to provide a taxable income or one or more taxable lump sums.
How much might my pot be?
This depends on how much is saved in, and investment performance.
Over time, the contributions and investment returns help your pension pot grow. The size of your pension pot at retirement will depend on factors like how long you save, how much is saved in, and how well your investments perform.
It is not possible to say exactly what your final pot will be, but we will write to you each summer to let you know:
- how your pot is progressing
- how much has been saved in over the last 12 months
- what we think your pot might be when you retire
You can also see the current value of your pot at any time, just head to PensionsOnline.
Other pensions with the Church of England
If you have a pension with us from other employment within the Church, we need to keep these separate. We cannot combine pensions together. We need to do this so we charge the correct employers the correct amounts.