The State Pension

The State Pension is a four weekly payment from the government which is based on your National Insurance contributions. It’s separate to the pension you have with the British Transport Police Force Superannuation Fund (BTPFSF), and any other pensions you may have.

Your State Pension is not paid as part of your Fund benefits.

How does the State Pension work?

To receive your State Pension, you’ll need to claim it from the government once you reach your State Pension age (SPA).

Your SPA will usually be later than your Normal Retirement Age (NRA) in the Fund, so remember to check your State Pension age at Gov.uk.

Once you have claimed your State Pension, it will be paid to you every four weeks. This will be a separate payment to any other pensions you receive.

If you don’t want to claim your State Pension once you reach your SPA, you can take it later. Your State Pension will automatically defer until you claim it, so you can take it when you’re ready. To find out more information about deferring your State Pension visit Gov.uk.

What type of State Pension will I get?

From 6 April 2016, the government replaced the basic State Pension and the additional State Pension with the new State Pension for people reaching SPA from that date. The type of State Pension you’ll be able to claim depends on your date of birth.

You’ll be eligible for the new State Pension if you are:

• a man born on or after 6th April 1951
• a woman born on or after 6th April 1953

If you were born before these dates, you’ll need to claim the basic State Pension.

The new State Pension is paid as a single-tier, and the additional State Pension is not payable if you are eligible for the new State Pension.

You can find out more information on the new and the basic State Pension at Gov.uk.

How much State Pension will I get?

The amount of State Pension you’ll be able to get will depend on your National Insurance record.

To claim the full amount of the new State Pension, which is currently £221.20, you’ll need 35 years of National Insurance contributions or credits.*

To see how much State Pension you could get, you can check your forecast at Gov.uk.

Your forecast will tell you your SPA, and give an estimate of what you can expect to receive. This is a helpful planning tool.

Your State Pension forecast may also show an estimated Contracted Out Pension Equivalent (COPE) amount.

What is the Contracted Out Pension Equivalent (COPE)?

The estimated COPE amount on your State Pension forecast indicates the amount that would have been deducted from the additional State Pension which existed before the new State Pension was introduced in 2016.

This is not deducted from the new State Pension amount available to you, but could have had an impact on your years of National Insurance contributions on which the new State Pension is based.

The government may provide the estimated COPE amount to you, to inform you that for a period of time, you have been contracted-out of the pre-2016 state pension arrangements and paid lower National Insurance (NI) contributions - in effect a form of tax relief. You paid less NI during a period as you were contributing to your Fund pension.

The benefits you receive from the Fund have already taken this into account, so there is nothing further you need to do and nothing additional to claim.  

You can find out more about COPE and contracting out at Gov.uk.

Is my State Pension taxed?

Income from your State Pension is taxable, but is usually paid before any tax is taken. You receive it gross, this means no tax is taken before it is paid to you.

You pay Income Tax when your total annual income is above your Personal Allowance.

For 2022-2023 the standard Personal Allowance is £12,570, you can check your Personal Allowance at Gov.uk.*

You pay tax on your total annual income from all sources, including:

• Your State Pension
• Your workplace pension
• Any earnings, for example if you are still working
• Other pensions you are getting
• Rental income

Although Income Tax is not taken directly from your State Pension, this will use up some of your tax-free Personal Allowance. You may want to contact HMRC to determine the tax implications when you receive your State Pension to avoid a tax bill at the end of the tax year.

If you need more information about your Personal Allowance and the tax you may need to pay, you will need to contact HMRC.

You can also find out more information at MoneyHelper.

Can I take my Fund benefits before my State Pension?

You do not need to wait until you reach your SPA to take your Fund benefits.

Your NRA in the Fund could be earlier than your SPA, and you may also be able to apply to take your Fund benefits before you reach your NRA.

If you’re unsure of your NRA, you can check it by logging into your myFund account.

When you decide to claim your Fund benefits, you may be able to choose a flexible pension option. If you are a:

• 1970 member, you can take a higher or lower pension from the Fund before you reach your SPA, then your pension would decrease or increase after you reach your SPA.
• 2007 member, you can take a higher pension from the Fund before you reach your SPA, then your pension would decrease after you reach your SPA.
• CARE member, this option is not available to you.

You can find more information on the flexible pension option in your Scheme booklet, ‘A guide for members’ when you log in to your myFund account.

You can also request an estimate of your Fund benefits on your myFund account.

Can I take my Fund benefits after my State Pension?

You can take your Fund benefits after you have claimed your State Pension.

The Fund rules allow you to defer taking payment of your benefits. If you plan to take your pension after your NRA you may need to tell us before your retirement date. You can check the late retirement rules on our website. However, you must take your Fund benefits no later than age 75. 

As your State Pension is separate to your Fund benefits, our retirement planner and the estimates you receive from us won’t include details of your State Pension benefits.

When you use our budgeting calculators, remember to add your State Pension benefits when you’re planning for your retirement.

You can find out more information on the State Pension at Gov.uk or MoneyHelper.

*Figures are correct as of April 2023, but may change. To check the latest figures, visit The new State Pension: Eligibility - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk), or The new State Pension: What you'll get - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk), or Income Tax rates and Personal Allowances : Current rates and allowances - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)