Colleagues
I thought that some information regarding the new UK pension reforms on Freedom & Choice and how they affect those of us in the Strathclyde Pension Scheme would be helpful.
I have obtained the below information from the Strathclyde Pension Fund website, and as you can see there is a link to follow that goes in to further detail for you.
I trust this is helpful.
Reforms offering greater flexibility, ‘Freedom and Choice’, in the way that individuals aged 55 and over can access their defined contribution (DC) pensions become effective on 6 April 2015.
As the Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS) is a public sector defined benefit (DB) scheme, ‘Freedom and Choice’ does not apply to it.
However, before retiring, members do have the right to transfer their pension rights out of the LGPS to a DC arrangement offering ‘flexible benefits’.
As a transfer out of the LGPS is a major financial decision requiring careful consideration and can only be done after taking advice, we suggest that any members contemplating this course of action first read our Freedom_and_Choice_Q_and_A_for_LGPS_members
John Mooney