Changing circumstances

You can choose to leave the RBP at any time. To do so please contact the RBP administrator, Broadstone, giving them two months' notice for your contributions to stop. 

Depending on how long you have been a member, you will have several options for what you can do with the retirement balance you have built up so far. For example, you may be able to leave your retirement balance in the RBP (and become a deferred member) until you are ready to retire or transfer it to another provider.

Broadstone will provide you with further information about your options once you have confirmed you want to leave the RBP.

If your pay is reduced, and your pensionable pay therefore reduces as well, then the amount you contribute to the RBP will reduce too. 

This is because your contribution is determined as a percentage of your pensionable pay depending on the core benefit level you have chosen and your age at beginning of the Plan year and not a fixed value. To find out more about contribution rates see your Member Guide. 

You do still have the flexibility to switch core benefit levels from the start of each Plan year, so can opt to pay more by increasing your core benefit level if you wish. See the boosting your benefits page for more details.

As long as you are on paid leave and are paying contributions to the RBP then you will remain a contributing (active) member and will continue to build your benefits. 

If you go on unpaid leave, then you will stop paying contributions and will no longer earn benefits in the RBP (unless the Company advises otherwise). 

Maternity leave

In the case of paid maternity leave, your contributions will be based on your actual pay. However, the credit to your retirement balance will be based on the pensionable pay you would have received had you not been on paid maternity leave. 

If your maternity leave is unpaid then, as noted above, you will stop paying contributions and will no longer earn benefits in the RBP (unless the Company advises otherwise).

Regardless of whether your maternity leave is paid or not, you will still be entitled to the RBP’s death-in-service and ill-health benefits. 

If you take any type of leave other than those listed this is likely to be considered special leave and will be unpaid. 

Unless the Company advises you otherwise, you will not remain a contributing member during any period of special leave and will not continue to build up benefits in the RBP. 

If you are planning on taking a career break from work, you will need to speak to your employer to check what arrangements they have in place, and what the impact will be on your contributions and benefits.

When the break starts all payments into the RBP will stop, unless your employer makes alternative arrangements. You will also stop building up benefits until you return. 

Once you return to work your contributions and membership of the RBP will restart automatically. 

If you do not return to work, you will be treated as having left the Company when the career break started.

You should speak to your employer for more information, including details about what death benefits may be payable if you die during your career break.

Most periods of sick leave are likely to be relatively short. As such these will not affect your membership of the RBP. As long as you are on paid sick leave and continue paying your contributions to the RBP, your retirement balance will continue to be credited with your chosen benefit level. 

If you need to take unpaid or long-term sick leave, please speak to your employer about how this will affect your benefits, and whether your contributions will be paused or stopped.

Stopping work completely due to ill-health

If you need to stop work completely due to ill-health, you can apply to retire early and use your retirement balance to provide your benefits. 

You will need to meet certain criteria and provide evidence of your health before a request for early retirement on the grounds of ill-health can be agreed. 

Please contact the RBP administrator, Broadstone, if you need to stop work due to ill-health and they can provide further information. You can find Broadstone's information on the contact details page.

If you are going through a divorce or the dissolution of a civil partnership, you will need to tell the RBP administrator, Broadstone. This will help to avoid delays in payment of any benefits due to you and/or your dependants. 

As part of your divorce or dissolution, your pension is likely to be considered along with your other assets when financial settlements are worked out.

How your retirement balance could be shared out

There are three ways a Court could decide to share your retirement balance:

1. Pension Offsetting

   With Pension Offsetting, you keep your pension assets to yourself in their entirety while something else of the same or similar value, such as property, is awarded to your ex-spouse or former civil partner. If your situation changes in the future and you re-marry or die, your offsetting agreement will not be affected.
   
   Pension Offsetting might be a particularly good option if you or your ex-spouse or former civil partner have similar pension provision in place or overseas pensions that you need to be split. This is because international pension assets cannot be shared via a UK court order.
   



2. Pension Attachment Order (Earmarking Order)

   The Trustee must accept an Earmarking order if it is made against one of its members.
   
   With this option, when you start getting your pension, a certain amount that is agreed by both parties and approved by the Court, will go to your ex-spouse or former civil partner. The amount could also include a portion of your lump sum death benefit and/or your retirement lump sum. The payments will be made directly to your ex-spouse or former civil partner when you decide to take your benefits. The State Pension is not included in it though.
   
   If you die before you start receiving your pension, your ex-spouse or former civil partner will not get the share awarded to them. They may however, still receive some of the lump sum which could be paid out when you die.
   
   If your ex-spouse or former civil partner remarries, enters a new civil partnership or dies before you, they will no longer be eligible to receive any of your pension payments awarded to them and it will be re-instated to you. However, they may still be entitled to a retirement lump sum.
   



3. Pension Sharing Order (PSO)

   Pension Sharing provides a clean break between both parties at the time of divorce or ending of a civil partnership. This is because assets are split immediately and it is up to both parties to decide what to do with their shares independently.
   
   With this option, a one-off payment that is agreed by both parties and approved by the Court, is made from your pension to your ex-spouse or former civil partner at the time of divorce or ending of a civil partnership. Their share is taken off the total amount of your pension - this is known as a 'pension debit'. Your ex-spouse or former civil partner receives their share, known as the 'pension credit' as soon as the order is finalised.
   
   Once the payment has been made, your ex-spouse or former civil partner will have no further claim to your pension.
   
   The amount they receive from you will need to be transferred to another pension arrangement.
   

Additional contributions in divorce

If you die before taking your retirement balance or soon after, your next of kin may be entitled to death benefits. You can find out more on the your benefits page and in your Member Guide.