Applying to take my IWDC pot

1. Starting your application

How you apply to take your IWDC pension pot depends on whether or not you're still paying into the Scheme. 

• If you are still paying into the Scheme (an active member), you need to tell your employer that you want to take your IWDC pension pot and agree a retirement date with them. Your employer will then pass this information onto the Scheme administrator, Railpen. Your employer can only do this 3 months before the date you intend to retire. 
• If you're no longer paying into your IWDC pot (a preserved member), then you don't have to contact your employer and can instead contact Railpen direct. Visit the get in touch page to find Railpen's contact details.

2. Completing the necessary paperwork

Once Railpen is aware of your plans to take your IWDC pension pot, we will send you Retirement Option Forms.  You must return these forms at least 1 month before your chosen retirement date to make sure they can be processed in time.

If you're taking annuity or drawdown, you will need to include the name and contact details for your chosen provider, please see the relevant section below for details.

If you want to make any changes to your investment funds, you will need to request these on the member website before returning your completed Retirement Option Forms. 

Find out how to change your investments on the managing my investments page.

Where possible, we will disinvest funds 28 days before the retirement date and hold the money as cash, ready to pay it. This is to protect the funds against market fluctuation in the weeks leading to the retirement and enables us to pay your benefits on your chosen retirement date. As such you will not be able to change your fund choices when there is less than 28 days to your retirement date, as funds may already be disinvested at this time.

3. Payments being made

Your final benefits will be calculated once the Scheme has received your final contributions. Benefits will then be paid to you or the scheme you have chosen to transfer to depending on your chosen option.

Guidance on your transfer and retirement options

If you're aged 50 or over and ask to transfer out or take your IWDC pot, you may need to get free guidance on your retirement options from Pension Wise, or let us know that you're opting out of taking the guidance, before we can go ahead with your application. This is to help protect you from scams and make sure you understand your options.

When we receive your request to transfer or take your IWDC pot, we will write to you to let you know what you need to do.

You can find out more about Pension Wise on the MoneyHelper website.

If you choose to take your money a bit at at time (drawdown)

If you choose to take all the money in your pot as a cash lump sum (encashment)

Delaying taking your IWDC pot

If you decide not to take your IWDC pot once you reach your Pension Age or Target Retirement Age, you do not need to tell Railpen. Your membership will simply continue to run as normal until you are ready to begin the process outlined above.

However, your IWDC pot will remain invested, so it's important to keep an eye on how your funds are performing and consider whether low, medium, or high-risk funds are appropriate for you.

You will receive an annual benefit statement to help with this and can also keep track of your funds online, through your myRPS account. You can easily change your investment funds online at any time if you wish.

While your IWDC pot remains invested, and you remain working, you can continue making contributions, which means you will be an active member. You can even decide to make Additional Voluntary Contributions (AVCs) to boost your pension pot, if you can afford to pay more in.

If you decide not to continue to make contributions or you leave work you will become a preserved member. In this case, you would stop paying into your pension pot but can continue to manage your investments using your online account.

You must claim your IWDC pot in full by age 75.