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 join PB 2014 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’. Your employer might enrol you if you do not meet these criteria. Ask your employer 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, contact your employer for an ‘opt in notice.’
Transferring in
We do not accept transfers in.
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.
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.
We add the contributions you and your employer pay to your pension. Each month, your contributions build up over time.
Unlike a defined contribution pension, your account does not go up and down in line with the stock market.
There is no decrease in your pension pot. We guarantee your pot will not go down, unless you retire or transfer before age 65. If you retire or transfer age 65, we might reduce your account, depending on market conditions at that time.
We invest your account for you in line with the Church’s ethical policies. You don’t have to make an investment choice. We manage the investments for you.
How much might my pot be?
This depends on how much is paid in, and, how much bonuses are before you retire.
As we do not know how much bonuses will be each year, it is not easy to say what your final pot will be. But, each year we'll upload an annual statement to PensionsOnline, letting you know how much we think your pension might be when you retire