Understand your IWDC benefits

You’re never too old – or young – to start planning your retirement.

And your IWDC pension offers a number of different ways to take your benefits when you retire. For instance, you could:

• take it all as cash, or
• use it to buy an annuity (pension)

or, transfer your benefits to another authorised provider and choose to:

• keep your contributions invested
• use 'drawdown' to take up to 25 per cent of your savings as a tax-free payment and get a regular taxable income from the rest
• take it bit by bit when you want it (with 75 per cent of each payment taxed as income), or 
• use a combination of the above

You can learn more about each option (and the tax implications of each) at Pensionwise.gov.uk/explore-your-options

Your loved ones, or the charities and organisation that matter to you, may also get a lump sum if you die before taking your pension.

Sign in to your myRPS account to see how much your benefits are worth.

Remember…

• Your contributions into the IWDC are tax-free, up to certain limits, as they are taken from your salary before tax.
• You can choose how to invest your contributions for the best long-term returns.
• You can top up your pension with Additional Voluntary Contributions (AVCs) and invest these in funds of your choice too. 

Think ahead

It’s important that you have an idea when you may want to retire or take your benefits, as this will influence the funds that your contributions should be invested in to help build up your pension pot.

To start with, do you know your Normal Retirement Age? This is the age when your employer normally expects you to retire. You can find it in your Key Features guide when you log in to your account. 

Or, if you have selected a Lifestyle Fund (where your funds are managed for you), you can choose your own Target Retirement Age, which can be as low as 50 (depending on your Scheme membership rights) or as high as 75.

Every year, you will be sent an Annual Benefit Statement, which gives you an idea of what you might expect to receive in retirement. It's really worth looking through it checking if you're on track to receive the income you'll need for the lifestyle you want when you retire.