Other Benefits Payable

Ill Health Retirement

Members who left the mining industry on Ill Health Retirement terms may be eligible to apply for a pension from age 55 years. Such applications must be supported by a current doctor's certificate which states that the member is totally and permanently incapacitated for work of any sort. If approved, payment would be made from the date of application and not backdated to a member's 55th birthday. This concession is only available to members who left the industry on Ill Health Retirement terms, not any form of redundancy or severance terms.

Death Benefits

From 1.10.19, if a member were to die before reaching pensionable age, the Scheme will pay a lump sum to their spouse, partner or family members equal to five times the starting annual pension they would have received if they had survived to age 60.

If a member were to die soon after starting to receive their pension, a lump sum would also be paid, but in this instance, we would pay the balance of the pension up to what would have been the 5th anniversary of its commencement.

Payments would be made directly to family members wherever possible, which is why it is important that members should complete an Expression of Wish form if they have not already done so, in order that the Trustees know who to pay this benefit to in the event of their death. Forms can be obtained from our office or downloaded on the 'Forms and Documents’ Section of this website.

When returning the form please ensure that it is a sealed envelope clearly marked, together with your full name and date of birth. It is important for Data Protection reasons that we do not open the envelope or see its contents before a member’s death.

Small Sums Commutation (SSC)

If the “cash value” of a member’s pension falls below £10,000, the tax authorities allow us to pay it over to the member as a cash lump sum, or Small Sum Commutation (SSC).

We would notify a member when the projected cash value of their pension is about to fall below £10,000 and give them the option to consider taking SSC. It is only available to members who have reached the Scheme’s pensionable age (60) and whose pension is valued at less than £10,000. This is calculated by working out how much pension a member would receive over the rest of their expected lifetime and converting it to a cash value in today’s money.

If the lump sum payment is a member's first and only payment from this Scheme then 25% of the total amount will be paid tax free. Otherwise tax is payable on the balance (or all in the case of a pensioner) at the member’s marginal rate.

If a member were to exchange their pension in the Scheme for an SSC, they would be giving up their pension entitlement once and for all and would not qualify for any possible future discretionary pension increases.

Transferring out of the Scheme

Before members reach the Scheme's pensionable age, they can transfer the value of their future Scheme benefits to another pension arrangement of which they are a member. If a member wishes to consider this option, they should consider taking independent financial advice before deciding. This is because our Scheme offers a fixed level of pension payable for life, and the arrangement to which benefits are transferred may not do so.

Members who are under age 60 and have not drawn their pension are entitled to request a quotation of their Cash Equivalent Transfer Value, and can do so once a year without having to pay a charge.

Please note that the transfer value quoted at any time is guaranteed for three months from the date of the quote, so as to allow you sufficient time to seek a new provider and complete all the necessary paperwork to make the transfer.  

The transfer value we quote is determined by a number of factors that change from month to month (one of which is long term interest rates in the Government Bond market).

We can offer no guarantee that a transfer value will stay the same or improve when compared to previous quotes you may have had. Indeed, it could quite easily go down for reasons entirely outside our control.

A Cash Equivalent Transfer Value is the best estimate we can place on what it would cost you, theoretically, to replicate the entitlement to a lifetime income you are giving up in this Scheme, with one in another similar pension arrangement.

o   It is not based on a “pot of money” that goes up and down in value like (for example) a personal pension, or stocks and shares ISA.