My membership
Joining is easy, you usually start from your first day in stipendiary ministry.
Your pension is linked to your length of service and the National Minimum Stipend.
How I become a member
If you are new to CEFPS, you usually join when you start stipendiary ministry.
If you are employed outside the usual Diocesan structure, you may be able to join if your employer or organisation is linked to the Church of England and agrees to become a ‘Participating Responsible Body’. You usually need a Bishops’ License to join.
Unfortunately, you cannot join if you are self-supporting.
Responsible Body contributions
Your Responsible Body covers the cost of providing your pension. The amount can change over time.
Opting out
You're not required to join. You can opt out, but it's important you consider the benefits you will lose.
If you opt out, you will stop earning pension. You will also lose your life cover. If you want to opt out, contact us for an ‘opt out notice.’
You must ask for this yourself. This is designed to stop anyone pressuring you to opt-out.
Even if you opt out, you may be enrolled you in the future as part of auto-enrolment. 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, contact your Responsible Body for an ‘opt in notice.’
Re-joining after leaving
If you re-join, we will re-activate your pension and you'll start earning more pension.
If you leave and then re-join within 3 months, we will treat your service as continuous. This helps if you move between different Diocese.
If your new role is outside the usual Diocesan structure, you can stay in CEFPS. Your new employer or organisation will need to agree to become a Responsible Body.
Transferring in
We do not accept transfers into your Clergy pension, but you can move pensions into your AVCs.
Other pensions with the Church of England
If you already have a pension with us from other employment within the Church, we usually need to keep these separate. We do this so we charge the correct organisations the correct amounts.
The Church of England Pensions Measures
CEFPS was established on 1 January 1998. Before then, Clergy pensions are covered by The Church of England Pensions Measures (CEPM). The legal details of pensions earned before 1 January 1998 are contained in several regulations collectively known as the Church of England Pensions Measures.
We administer and pay all pensions earned before 1 January 1998. The cost of these benefits is met by the Church Commissioners.
How my pension works
We work out your pension by splitting your service into three sections.
Section 1: Up until 31 December 2007 (NPA 65)
Pensionable service / 37 x 2/3 previous years’ NMS
Section 2: From 1 January 2008 to 31 December 2010 (NPA 65)
Pensionable service / 40 x 2/3 previous years’ NMS
Section 3: From 1 January 2011 (NPA 68)
Pensionable service / 41.5 x 1/2 previous years’ NMS
We add up your pension in all three sections and to get your total pension. Your tax-free lump sum is usually 3x your total pension.
The Normal Pension Age (NPA) increased from 65 to 68 from 1 January 2011. If you take your pension at a different time to the NPA, your pension may change as we are likely to pay it for a longer or shorter length of time.
If you have part-time service, we pro-rata your pensionable service for this period. This means you will earn slightly less pension for any of these periods.
How much might my pension be?
Your pension is based on:
- your length of pensionable service, and,
- the previous year’s National Minimum Stipend (NMS)
If you have held certain offices your pension will be higher, but your tax-free lump sum stays the same. If you later take up a lower position, such as moving from a Diocesan Bishop to an Archdeacon your pension stays at the higher level.