If you’ve stopped building up future benefits in the Scheme but haven’t yet started to receive these benefits, you’re a ‘deferred’ member. Neither you nor the Company will still be contributing to your Uniper pension. 

Each April, you receive an increase to your benefits in line with inflation. This is based on the Retail Prices Index (RPI) figure for the previous September, although limits apply.

Claiming your benefits

You can apply to start taking your Uniper benefits when you reach your normal retirement age, which is 63 for members of the ESPS categories of the Scheme or 65 for members of the Retirement Balance (RB) Plan.
 
If you’re approaching your normal retirement age, you can contact the pension administrator, Railpen, to learn more about the options available to you when you retire.
 
You can apply to take your benefits early, before you reach normal retirement age. However, your benefits may be reduced if you take them early.

Please see the information below about help to support you with important decisions about how you take your benefits from the Scheme. 

Help to support you with important decisions about how to take your benefits from the Scheme

Origen Financial Services Limited (Origen) who are authorised and regulated by the FCA No.192666, are available to provide you with financial advice that is independent from the Scheme on your options for providing an income in retirement from the Scheme, if you wish.

The advice service provided by Origen is to support you in understanding the options available to you from the Scheme. Origen will provide you with a recommendation based on your financial circumstances to help you consider and make decisions about your Scheme benefits. The service will not provide any recommendations outside those associated with taking your benefits from the Scheme.

When you request a retirement pack or a transfer value from Railpen, information about how you can access the service will be contained within this, along with a brief description of the process and how you can find out more.

The Uniper Trustees will pay some of the cost associated with this service. However, you can only access this paid for advice service once (you could repeat this process, but it would be at your own cost). Further details about this can be found in the information about the service that will be shared with you.

There is no obligation to use Origen, but you may wish to consider taking advice from an alternative FCA authorised advice. You can find a list of Independent Financial Advisers in your local area at www.unbiased.co.uk. If you chose to take advice from an alternative adviser, then the Uniper Trustees will not pay any of the costs incurred and you will not benefit from the preferential rates that have been negotiated by the Trustees on your behalf.

Neither the Trustees, Railpen (the Scheme Administrator), or Uniper can provide members with financial advice. They can give you factual information but not advice.

Transfers and pension scams

Fraudsters may try to lure you into an illegal pension transfer – and if they succeed, you could lose all of your pension savings and be taxed as well!

Beware of:

• Promises of early access to your pension (before age 55)
• 'Guaranteed' returns on investments
• Offers of free pension reviews and health checks
• Talk of pension loans or upfront cash
• Advice to transfer your pension savings into small occupational schemes to avoid scrutiny from regulators

You can learn more about pension fraud and red flags to watch out for on the Pension scams page.

If you do wish to transfer your Uniper pension to another pension arrangement, you will need to contact the pension administrator, Railpen, and request a transfer value.

Please see the information above about help to support you with important decisions about how to take your benefits from the Scheme.

Choosing your beneficiaries
If you die before you claim your Scheme benefits, a lump sum could be paid to your beneficiaries.
 
You can tell the Trustee who you’d like your beneficiaries to be by completing an Expression of Wish form, which is available in the ESPS forms section.

To change your beneficiaries, simply submit a new form. This will override any previous forms.

Ill health
Being unable to work due to ill health can be worrying, so ill-health retirement may be one way to help ease the financial burden.
 
If you meet the criteria, you may be able to claim your Scheme pension and cash lump sum early, with no reductions for early payment.
 
Contact the pension administrator, Railpen, for more details.