Frequently Asked Questions

First and foremost, you are actively saving for your future. As well as the benefit of getting a pension for life when you retire, there are many other benefits: 
 

• You can choose to take a tax-free lump sum on retirement.

   

• The cost of providing your pension benefits is shared between you and your employer.

   

• The contributions you pay in are deducted before income tax is calculated, so it is a tax-efficient way of saving.

   

• You can choose to pay extra contributions, called Additional Voluntary Contributions (AVCs), to top up your benefits.

   

• You may be eligible for an incapacity pension if you have to give up your job due to ill-health.

   

• A death in service lump sum may be payable to your beneficiaries (remember to complete or update your nominations so the Trustee is aware about who you would like them paid to - you can nominate when you log into your myFund account).

   

• Dependants (usually spouses, partners and/or children) may also get a pension when you die.

Follow these simple steps to get the most from your pension.
 

1. Register for a myFund account. Your myFund account allows you to check the value of your benefits, learn about your options and manage your AVC account (if you have one).



2. Complete your Nominations. It’s vital that the Management Committee knows who you would like any lump sum death benefits paid to if you die before taking your pension from the Fund (or within five years of claiming it). You can check and change your nominations at any time in your myFund account or by downloading and completing a form.


3. Consider paying Additional Voluntary Contributions (AVCs) through BRASS or AVC Extra (check your member guide to see the options available to you). It’s a tax-efficient way to save more. You can find out which investment funds are available and learn more in the BRASS and AVC Extra areas of the website.

We're sorry you're having trouble. 

You can register using the following steps:

1. Visit your registration page and fill in your details including your:

• Pension Reference Number (you can find this on any recent letters we've sent you)
• National Insurance Number
• Date of birth
• Email address (use a personal email address if you have one, rather than your workplace one)

If you would like to use a mobile number to log in to your account in the future, you can add one in at the registration stage. This will need to be verified once you've logged in to your account.

2. Set up your security by:

• Creating a password
• Choosing a security question and answer

Once done, tick to confirm and select 'Register now'

3. Check your email and click the link in your confirmation asking you to verify your account. Make sure to check your junk email folder

4. When you log in with your new details, you'll be taken to a page where you're asked to request an email. Doing this will send a unique one-time security code to your email address. Go to your email inbox and copy the code, then enter this code into the security code field. Click 'Confirm'

5. You will then be taken to your account dashboard. You're in!

If you still have problems with registering, please email us at csu@railpen.com or call 0800 012 1117, quoting your full name and reference number.

Your NRA is the age from which you can take your full pension benefits without any reduction factors applied for early retirement. You may be able to take your benefits earlier than your NRA, but they will be reduced depending on how early you take them. 

The table below shows when members of each Section can take their benefits without any reductions. 

The Fund’s death benefits include a pension for an eligible spouse or another adult who was financially dependent on you when you died. Pensions can also be paid to eligible children. You should refer to your member guide for more information.  

There is also a lump-sum death benefit of four times your final salary. This is payable to beneficiaries at the discretion of the Management Committee. You should complete a nomination so that the Management Committee knows who you would like the lump sum to go to. 

You can nominate quickly and easily online by logging into your myFund account.

If you're unable to nominate online, you can download a form, complete and return to the Fund's administrator, Railpen.

You can read more about death benefits and how they are paid on the reporting a death page.

If you are in BRASS and/or AVC Extra, you must take​ those benefits at the same time as your Fund pension benefits, or transfer them to another arrangement.

Your benefits estimate will include your BRASS benefits.

AVC Extra provides benefits in a different way to BRASS, so you will receive a separate estimate of your AVC Extra benefits when you request an estimate of your Fund benefits.

‘Pension Plus’ is BTP’s salary sacrifice scheme. It means that your pension contributions are made in a way that costs less for you, while not affecting your pension benefits in any way. 

Put simply, you give up (or ‘sacrifice’) an amount of your salary equivalent to your annual pension contributions. In return, your employer pays those contributions on your behalf. This means your National Insurance contributions go down, but pension benefits are not affected. 

Speak to your employer about applying for Pension Plus.

You will continue to be a Fund member, but your contributions might change during your period of leave as they are based on your actual earnings. However the benefits you continue to earn whilst you are on parental leave continue to be based on your normal salary.

If your pay reduces to nil, your employer will continue to pay contributions on your behalf, but you will need to pay these back to your employer when you return to work. 

If you pay Additional Voluntary Contributions, they will continue as normal unless you decide to change or stop your contributions during this time.

You will be treated as though you have left the Fund and you will have to pay any contribution arrears owed to your employer. If you can’t do so, your employer can request that the arrears are taken from your pension benefits.

You will need to check with your employer about continuing membership of the Fund whilst you are on a career break. You may be able to ‘pause’ your membership, so you don’t accrue any membership during your break but you are not treated as leaving the Fund. You would not need to make contributions whilst you are away from work.

You can apply for an incapacity pension if: 

• you have at least five years’ membership in the Fund (including any membership transferred-in); and
• ​you are unable to perform the duties of a Police Officer, due to a medical condition which is more than temporary.

Your application, including medical evidence, will be considered by the Management Committee. A medical adviser is always present to assist the Committee. If your application is approved, you may also receive an additional period of membership to increase your pension. Read our Incapacity Benefits guide.

If you’re going through a divorce or the dissolution of a civil partnership, your pension is likely to be considered along with your other assets when financial settlements are worked out.

A court order can be made to apportion or transfer part of your pension benefits to your ex-spouse or ex-civil partner. In this case your own pension would reduce as a result.

A Cash Equivalent Transfer Value (CETV) is a way of putting a value on your pension benefits, which can be used by the Court in financial settlements during divorce or dissolution of a civil partnership.

It takes into account:

• the value of your pension and lump-sum benefits
• the value of your ex-partner’s dependant pension, and
• the value of your death in service lump sum

For security reasons we can only provide a CETV to:

• you
• the Court, or
• a solicitor acting with your written authority

There is an administration charge for any CETV. You can find out more in the Read as You Need guide on divorce and dissolution and on the Divorce and my pension page on this website. 

If the Court issues a Pension Attachment order, the amount allocated to your ex-spouse will be held within the Fund and will only be paid once you start taking your benefits. Any estimate you get from the Fund, will take this into account so you’ll always see an accurate estimate of what your pension is worth to you. The order may provide for the amount allocated to be re-instated to you on the death or re-marriage of your ex-spouse

If the Court issues a Pension Sharing Order, your benefits will be reduced and a one off payment, specified by the Court, will be transferred to a scheme chosen by your ex-partner at the time of the divorce. We will let you know when this has been done and what your basic scheme pension and lump sum has been reduced by. All future estimates of your benefits that you receive from Railpen will take this into account and reflect the reduction. They will be unaffected by any subsequent re-marriage or death of your ex-spouse.

You can find out more in the  Read as You Need guide on divorce and on the Divorce and my pension page on this website. 

HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) allows contributions paid into registered pension schemes to benefit from tax relief. The benefits paid out of such schemes can include a pension, which is taxable and a lump sum which is paid tax-free (up to a limit). 

Recycling occurs where a pension scheme member intentionally uses some or all of the tax-free lump sum that they receive from a pension scheme to significantly increase their contributions to another (or the same) pension scheme, in order to gain further tax relief and further entitlement to a tax-free lump sum. 

It doesn’t matter if the tax-free lump sum is directly or indirectly reinvested into a pension scheme – this is still classed as recycling. An example of indirectly reinvesting the tax-free lump sum is to use your personal savings to significantly increase your contributions to a pension scheme, and replenish these savings with the tax-free lump sum. 

Under HMRC rules, a tax-free lump sum must not be used in a way which exploits the generous tax relief available by ‘recycling’ the tax-free lump sum received.  These rules apply to UK and non-UK residents, and to individuals making contributions into overseas pension schemes. 

If HMRC finds that recycling has occurred, it will impose tax charges on the member and possibly the scheme too. 

Members of the Fund are reminded of the rules prohibiting recycling when they apply for retirement and when they ask to make a one-off additional voluntary contribution to BRASS or AVC Extra. 

More information can be found by searching for 'pension scheme recycling' or at on the Gov.uk website

• You may be affected if your taxable income is more than £200,000 (this includes income from non-employment sources). If your taxable income is £200,000 or less, you will not be affected by the Tapered Annual Allowance.
• If you have an adjusted income over £260,000, then your Annual Allowance will reduce by £1 for every £2 of adjusted income over £260,000.
• The maximum reduction to the Annual Allowance is £50,000, so if you have an adjusted income of £360,000 or more, you will have an Annual Allowance of £10,000.

You could be affected by this tax limit if you take money from your Additional Voluntary Contributions (AVCs) or any other defined contribution pensions you may have, while you're still paying in.

You can find out more in our Tax Limits guide, which you'll find in the my pension section when you log into your MyFund account.

You can also learn more about pension tax allowances at www.gov.uk/tax-on-your-private-pension

The benefits you’ve earned while you have been a member of the Fund will be ‘preserved’ until you reach your Normal Retirement Age (this is age 55 for preserved members of the 1970 Section, and 65 for preserved members of the 2007 Section and CARE ​​members). 

Your benefits will increase in line with inflation each year so they keep their value. 

• If inflation is positive, your benefits will be increased by the corresponding percentage.

• If inflation is zero, your pension will not increase; it will stay the same.

• If inflation is negative, your pension will not decrease; it will stay the same.

Yes, and we would really encourage you to do so! 

Keeping your nominations up to date is just as important as when you were an active member so the Management Committee knows who you'd like any death benefits paid to if you die before claiming your pension (or within 5 years of taking it). You can nominate online quickly and easily by logging into your myFund account.

If you are unable to nominate online, you can download a form from the Forms section.

You may be able to apply to take your pension benefits early, from age 55 for most members or 50 for some members of the 1970 Section. However they will be reduced depending on how long you retire before your Normal Retirement Age.

You can get a free online estimate of your early retirement benefits by logging into your myFund account and selecting 'Request an estimate' under 'My Pension'

Yes, you are able to transfer your preserved benefits to the scheme of your new employer or to a personal pension arrangement. However please think very carefully before you transfer your benefits out of the Fund.

You should carefully consider your long-term financial position and compare the benefits of your BTP pension with those offered by alternative pension arrangements.

If you want to transfer your pension, we strongly recommend you get independent financial advice. If you are considering transferring your BTP benefits to a defined contribution arrangement, depending on the size of your transfer value, getting financial advice may be a legal requirement.

You would need to contact an Independent Financial Adviser (IFA) regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority for this. You can find IFAs in your local area at Unbiased.co.uk.

Important: Some scams are singling out pension scheme members and claiming that they can help cash in your pension early. Please learn how to avoid becoming a victim of scams.

You can only apply for ill health retirement benefits if you leave service due to ill health. If you subsequently become ill having left service, you are not able to apply for an ill health pension.

You can apply to take your benefits early (see 'Can I take my pension benefits early?' question ).

Yes, your pension is taxable like any other income and is taxed using the Pay As You Earn system. However, if your annual pension, plus any other income you may have, is less than your personal allowance, you will not pay any tax.

Tax is taken from your pension payment before you receive it, based on the tax code supplied to Railpen by the Tax Office. Any enquiries about your tax code should be made directly to your appropriate Tax Office.

This is probably because we have been instructed by HMRC to change your tax code. For further information and questions about your income tax assessment, please contact HMRC by calling: 0300 200 3300 or write to: Pay As You Earn and Self Assessment, HM Revenue and Customs, BX9 1AS, United Kingdom

 See gov.uk/check-income-tax-current-year for more details.

After the end of the tax year in April, Railpen will send you a P60 Form. The P60 confirms your final tax code for the year and gives details for the tax year that has just ended. This includes:  

• your pension and/or earnings
• ​the amount of tax deducted
• National Insurance contributions paid by you and your employer (you won’t pay any on your pension); and,
• your final tax code 

Your P60 is important. You need to keep it for at least two years in case you’re asked to complete a tax return (it may help you with other forms too).

You can update your bank account details by logging into your myFund account and selecting 'Payment Details' in the 'My Details' section.

Alternatively,  you can let us know of a change of address, by emailing the Helpline at  csu@railpen.com or calling 0800 012 1117. When contacting Railpen, please have your pension reference number to hand.

Railpen processes pension payrolls approximately two weeks before the payment date. Therefore if you change your bank or building society account, you should let Railpen have the details of your new account at least two weeks before your pension is due to be paid. 

If you are unable to give two weeks' notice then please make sure you keep your old bank account open to avoid any delay in your pension reaching you.

We all want to make sure our loved ones are looked after. When you die your eligible spouse or civil partner will be paid half of your normal pension.  

Your normal pension is the basic pension on the day you took payment of your benefits. This will be increased by any pension increases which have been made since that time. 

Your normal pension does not include any voluntary reduction of your pension which you chose at the time you retired, such as exchanging pension for extra cash or taking the level pension option.