Here you will be able to find out about pension payments, death benefits after retirement, pension increases, and how to update your Expression of Wish form, if you were paying contributions into the Baptist Ministers' Pension Fund before 2012.
Pension Payments
Your pension will be paid on the last working day at the end of each month into your bank account. If you change your bank account then please inform the Scheme administrators, (Broadstone Consultants & Actuaries Ltd) of the new details in writing. Their address is at the foot of this page.
Death Benefits after Retirement
1) Pension Guarantee
The Baptist Pension Scheme provides for Defined Benefits Members a 5 Year Guarantee. This means that if you were to pass away after retirement, but before collecting 5 years worth of your pension and you have not yet reached 75, the scheme will pay your dependants a lump sum death benefit. This lump sum will be equal to the unpaid balance of five years’ pension payments at the rate in force at the date of your death, excluding any Supplementary Benefits.
Also if you are a Retired Member who took early retirement on the grounds of ill health and you die before turning 65, a lump sum equal to twice the Minimum Pensionable Income at the date of your death will be paid.
2) Spouse’s Pension (if applicable)
A pension will be payable immediately to any surviving spouse when you die provided that you were married to her/him before the date you stopped paying contributions. If you got married after you stopped paying contributions, then your widow/widower will not be entitled to a Spouse’s Pension.
The widow’s/widower's pension will be paid for the remainder of her or his life and will be equal to one half of the pension you would have been receiving at the date of your death. However, the Spouse’s Pension ignores any Supplementary Benefits or any reduction caused by taking a tax free cash sum or giving up part of your pension to provide extra pension for a dependant.
If your spouse is more than 15 years younger than you, then the amount of the widow’s/widower's pension will be reduced to take into account your spouse’s longer life expectancy.
3) Dependent Children’s Pension (if applicable)
If you have a child or children under the age of 16, or 23 if they are still in full time education, then they can also be paid a pension upon your death. This will be payable in respect of each child and will be 1/3 of the Spouse’s Pension. If you have more than 3 children then the pension payable to each child will be reduced by an amount decided by the Trustees. These pension(s) will stop when the child reaches 16 or finishes their full time education, up to the maximum of age 23.
4) Dependent’s Pension (if applicable)
If you do not have a Spouse or a dependent child then the Trustees of the scheme may pay a pension to one or more person(s) that depended upon you financially. This is at the Trustees discretion, and would not exceed the Spouse’s Pension.
If you require further information on this matter then please contact the scheme administrators whose details are at the foot of this page.
Pension Increases
Apart from Supplementary Benefits, pensions in payment increase annually on 1 January. This increase will reflect the annual increase in the UK Index of Retail Prices (RPI) for the 12 months ending in the previous September. The increases will be subject to a maximum annual increase. Benefits earned prior to the 6 April 2006 will be entitled to an annual RPI increase of up to 5%. Benefits earned on or after 6 April 2006 will be entitled to an annual RPI increase of up to 2.5%.
However, if you were contributing to the scheme before 1985, your pre-1985 benefits may have a different rate of increase because they are linked to a feature of this pension scheme called the Standard Annuity, which also increases every year. The annual mailing about pension increases will also tell you the new figure for the Standard Annuity.
Expression of Wish
Once you retire, it is still important to update your Expression of Wish form if there might be a lump sum payment under the terms of the Guarantee outlined above, under the heading: Death Benefits after Retirement. It would assist the Trustees to know your wishes, since in the event of your death any lump sum payable from the pension scheme is outside your estate and not covered by the provisions of your Will. The Expression of Wish form can be accessed via Broadstone Engage Member. If you have any problems accessing or completing the form please contact the Scheme administrators on baptistpensions@broadstone.co.uk.