At times through our working lives, many of us will look forward to the day that we stop work and finally claim our hard-earned pension savings. This National Payroll Week find out how your British Transport Police Force Superannuation Fund (BTPFSF) pension could be paid to you when you take it.

National Payroll Week aims to help raise awareness about payroll and how it works, so it’s a great opportunity to learn more about how your Fund pension may be paid to you, and to explore the options you might have to take it.

The way your pension is paid depends on the option you choose when you apply to take your pension benefits.

We can’t help decide which option is best for you, but this article can offer some of the information you might need to make a decision.

There are many different ways you can take your pension

As a member of the Fund, you have a number different of ways to take your pension benefits, so you can choose the option that’s right for your individual circumstances. The option you choose will determine how your pension benefits are paid to you when you take them.

Here’s a brief summary of the options available to members of the Fund. The options that you can take may depend on which Section of the Fund you are a member of.

If you’d like more detail on the options available for your Section, take a look at your Member Guide. You can find your Member Guide in the My Library area of your myFund online account.

There’s also more information on the options and how they work on the My retirement options page, under ‘In the fund’ and ‘Planning for retirement’.

If the rules for your Section of the Fund allow, you can:

1. Take a lump sum

You may be able to take a lump sum with your Fund pension. You are usually able to take up to 25% of the value of your benefits (but normally no more than £268,275) as a tax-free cash lump sum.

You may be able to:

• Take a larger lump sum and less pension
  Depending on the rules for your Section of the Fund, you may be able to give up some of your annual pension to provide a larger tax-free cash lump sum up to 25% of the value of your benefits (but normally no more than £268,275).
  
• Take a smaller lump sum and more pension
  You may be able to use some of your lump sum to buy extra annual pension.

2. Take the flexible pension option

You may be able to take this option if you joined the Fund before 1 April 2007, and want to take your Fund pension benefits before you reach your State Pension age (SPA).

With this option, you may be able to take a higher Fund pension before you claim your State Pension. You would then get a lower Fund pension when you reach SPA.

Alternatively, you may be able to take a lower Fund pension before you claim your State Pension, and a higher Fund pension when you reach your SPA. You can check your State Pension age at Gov.uk.

Your eligibility to take this option is based on your SPA when you take your pension from the Fund. To see how the flexible pension option could work when you take your pension benefits, request an estimate in your myFund account.

3. Transfer your pension, with risks

You may be able to transfer your DB pension to another pension provider.

Or if you don’t want to take your pension benefits in one of the ways listed above, you may be able to transfer your defined benefit (DB) pension out of the Fund and into another arrangement instead. Transferring could give you more options to take your pension, such as  drawdown and annuity.

But transferring carries risks, and it's important you stay alert for scams. You should think carefully before you transfer, as you could lose the valuable benefits of your DB pension.

If you’re considering a transfer, you might benefit from financial advice. You may have to take financial advice by law, depending on the value of your pension benefits. Please read all of the information in the Transferring your pension area, under ‘In the Fund’ and ‘Planning for Retirement’ before you make a decision.

You cannot transfer your pension benefits when they are in payment.

4. Get an extra pension for your dependants
A pension will be paid to your eligible dependants, such as a spouse, when you die.

When you take your pension benefits, you could give up part of your own pension entitlement in order to give extra pension to your dependants.

If you choose this option:

• You give up part of your pension – how much you give up will depend on your age and gender, as well as those of your dependant.
• Your named dependant will get a percentage of your normal pension when you die.

It’s important to keep in mind that if your named dependant dies before you, then the money you’ve given up will be lost and won’t go back into your pension. You also cannot change your named dependant. 

If you’ve paid in Additional Voluntary Contributions (AVCs)

If you have paid into AVCs, such as BRASS and/or AVC Extra, they must be taken at the same time as your main Fund benefits.

• BRASS is an AVC arrangement for 1970 Section members, who joined the Fund before ​1 April 2007.
• AVC Extra is the main AVC arrangement for 2007 Section and CARE members. It’s also open to members of the 1970 Section who are already ​paying ​maximum pension and BRASS contributions.
  

Or you can transfer your AVCs to another provider if you want to take them earlier or later than your main pension benefits, but this carries risks.

Choosing the right option for you

Deciding how you want to take your pension benefits is an important decision, and it can seem overwhelming.

As a member of the Fund you have access to a number of resources that are designed to give you the information to help you choose what’s best for you, including the pension planning tools in your myFund account.

We’ve created a short video that explains your retirement options in less than 5 minutes, it’s available to watch in the video library. There’s also a suite of informative videos to help you prepare for your life after work, so make sure you watch the videos in the library if you haven’t already.

If you’d like detailed information on your Fund pension and how it works, check the Read as You Need guides.

Take financial guidance and advice
You may want to get expert help with deciding on the option that’s right for you. It’s worth taking the time to read all of the information available to you before you make your decision.

You can find a list of trusted pension experts and advisers on the Need more advice page, under ‘Joining the Fund’. Using a financial adviser can be expensive, but it may give you a better long term outcome.