My pension if I leave
If you leave you can leave your pension with us, or transfer your pension to another pension provider.
As long as you are in Church Pension for 30 days, we will keep your pension with us. You can leave it with us until you retire, transfer it to another pension provider, or die.
If you were in Church Pension for less than 30 days and you paid your own contributions, we will refund this back to you, less tax.
Can I carry on paying into my pension?
No, you can only pay into your Church Pension while you are an active member. Once you leave, contributions stop.
Will my pension continue to grow?
Yes. Each year we aim to increase your pension in line with inflation (Consumer Prices Index). The increase might be slightly more or less than inflation, depending on how well Church Pension is performing.
The maximum amount we can increase your pension by is inflation plus 2%. In very challenging years, we can reduce your pension. Find out more about this on the Adjustments page.
Transferring my pension - what to know
A transfer works by giving up your Church Pension in return for a cash sum, called a transfer value.
You can transfer this cash sum to another pension provider at any point before you access your pension. This could be a new employers’ pension scheme, or you might want to consolidate your pensions.
Your transfer value is not guaranteed and can change before you move your pension.
There is no time limit to transfer - you can transfer at any time before you retire.
You don't need financial advice to transfer your pension out, but if you are ever unsure, it is good to speak to an adviser.
If you move overseas, you might want to move your pension with you. You can do this by following the usual transfer procedure, but we need to do a few more checks than usual.
We also need to check you are moving your pension to a pension scheme on the Government's recognised pension scheme list. You can check the list here.
Should I transfer?
Think carefully before you transfer.
Other pension schemes may provide a different type of benefit, so it can be difficult to make a comparison. If you are in doubt whether a transfer is in your best interests, we strongly recommend that you take independent financial advice.
Here are a few things you should consider:
- Before you transfer, check your new pension provider’s Annual Management Charge. Higher fees mean more of your money is taken as charges.
- Will consolidating your pensions make it easier for you to keep track of where your pensions are, and how they are performing?
- If you want to move your money out of your new pension scheme, can you easily do this?
- What are your new investment choices, and if you would like to invest responsibly, do they have a responsible investment options?
- Check what will happen to your pension if you die.
If you would like to transfer, head to PensionsOnline (just go to the handy link below to log in) and you can run your transfer value and download all the forms you need to move your pension.