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Currently, the Directors of the United Reformed Church Ministers鈥� Pension Trust Limited are:

• Ms Bridget Micklem (Convenor and Chair)
• Mr Colin MacBean
• The Revd Dr Janet Tollington 飦� +
• The Revd Daniel Cheyne 飦� +
• The Revd Dick Gray 鈼� (Convenor of the URCIC)
• The Revd John Piper 飦� 鈼� (URC Deputy Treasurer)
• Mr Lyndon Thomas (Deputy Chair)
• The Revd Caroline Vodden 飦� +
• The Revd Paul Bedford 飦� +
• The Revd David Coote 飦� 鈼� (Convenor of the MoM Committee)
• Mr Richard Nunn 鈼� (Convenor of the Pensions Committee)

The Trustee Directors marked 飦� are also members of the Pension Fund. Those marked 鈼� are ex officio members. Those marked + were nominated by members of the Pension Fund.

Flexible benefits

A number of new flexibilities were introduced following the Government鈥檚 budget in 2014. We reported these in previous editions of Pensions Update, but here is a brief reminder.

Small pension 鈥榩ots鈥�

If you have only built up a small level of benefit in the Pension Fund (or across several schemes), you may be able to draw it all as a cash sum after you have reached your 55th birthday, instead of pension.

• Single schemes: you may take cash from a pension scheme if your benefits in that scheme are worth less than 拢10,000.
• Your overall benefits: you may take cash from a pension scheme even if your benefits exceed 拢10,000 in value, but only if the value of your benefits from all your pension schemes in the UK totals less than 拢30,000.

You can find out whether your pension falls within the commutation limits by contacting Joao Rodrigues at Church House, but to give you a very rough indication, a pension of 拢500 p.a. on retirement at age 65 or a pension of 拢400 p.a. payable from age 55 are likely to fall within the single scheme threshold of 拢10,000. For the 拢30,000 limit聽 the pensions you will receive from all schemes must total less than 拢1,500 p.a. and in some circumstances the total may need to be lower.

Defined contribution (DC) flexibilities

These flexibilities apply to members of the Pension Fund who have paid Additional Voluntary Contributions (AVCs) into the cash balance scheme attaching to the Fund, and also apply to any DC pension savings outside the Pension Fund.

Briefly, there is now the scope to take the whole of your AVC fund as a lump sum, although depending upon your circumstances only part of it will be payable tax free.聽 However, if you wish to take full advantage of the new flexibilities and operate your AVC fund in a similar way to a bank account, by drawing from it as and when you聽 require funds, then you will need to transfer your AVC fund to a suitable provider. This is because, unfortunately, we do not have the administrative resources to provide this level of flexibility from the Pension Fund. If you wish to pursue a more flexible approach you are permitted to transfer your AVC fund out of the Pension Fund without transferring your final salary benefits.

The option of taking a tax-free lump sum from your AVC fund and purchasing an annuity in the Fund, or with an insurance company with the balance of your AVC fund,聽 continues to be available.

In the light of the new pension flexibilities, the Government has launched a service called 鈥樷�� to help guide people through their pension retirement choices.

Pension scams

There is a statutory requirement that you take financial advice before transferring your final salary benefits out of the Pension Fund if the transfer value is for more than 拢30,000. Even if your transfer value is under this threshold the Trustee strongly recommends you take independent financial advice from someone qualified to give that advice before taking any action.

The Pensions Regulator has also issued guidance which requires pension scheme trustees and administrators to carry out certain checks before making transfer聽 payments. As part of this campaign, trustees and pension providers are being encouraged to raise members鈥� awareness and to be alert to potentially fraudulent pension scams.

There are significant tax consequences when pension scheme members access their pension savings before age 55 (except in very limited circumstances) and these tax charges and penalties can amount to more than half the value of a member鈥檚 pension savings. Therefore, in order to make an informed decision about a transfer and to seek any appropriate additional advice, it is important to have all relevant documentation and information about the transfer, the terms and conditions and how your pension will be paid on retirement.

The Pensions Regulator states that it is crucial that members understand any transfer they agree to and should always receive adequate documentation from the聽 receiving scheme. Advice on how to spot the warning signs of pension scams can be found on the GOV.UK's .

Flexibility over when you take your retirement benefits

The Pension Fund鈥檚 Normal Retirement Age (NRA) is 68 for both males and females, with the exception of those members who opted out of the 2013 benefit changes and retained a Normal Retirement Age of 65. You have flexibility in when you choose to take retirement benefits and in when you stop working. These do not need to be on the same date and the Finance Office can provide guidance on the financial implications of these options.

The level of benefits you receive is determined by when you choose to start receiving your pension:

• Take retirement benefits at NRA.
• Take benefits early 鈥� benefits can be taken between age 55 and 68 with a reduction applied to your pension for each year of retirement prior to NRA. The amount of tax-free cash will also be less than if you retired at NRA.
• Take benefits late 鈥� You may defer receipt of your benefits up to age 75. This will benefit from a late retirement enhancement, or additional service will build up if you remain in stipendiary service.

For members with service before 1 January 2013, this element of service is treated as having a NRA of 65, which means that on retirement at age 65 this part of the聽 pension is not reduced.

Reduction in the money purchase annual allowance

The taxation authorities limit the amount of pension that you may build up each year without there being any additional taxation implications. This is called the Annual Allowance and amounts to 拢40,000. You may carry forward unused Annual Allowance from the previous three tax years. If the value of your pension benefits earned over a tax year (including any contributions you make to the Pension Fund鈥檚 AVC arrangement or to any other pension plan) is greater than 拢40,000 (and you have no carry forward remaining), then a tax charge is payable on the excess over the Annual Allowance. The Annual Allowance tax charge is levied at your marginal income tax rate.

In certain circumstances a second, lower, Annual Allowance applies of just 拢4,000. This is called the Money Purchase Annual Allowance and this lower allowance applies to any money purchase pension savings you continue to make after you have started 鈥榙rawdown鈥� access of any money purchase pension benefits that you may have already built up. 鈥楳oney purchase鈥� pension benefits, in this context, include the Pension Fund鈥檚 cash balance (AVC) scheme.

Certain high earning individuals may also have their Annual Allowance reduced. The low level of the Money Purchase Annual Allowance means you should be careful to factor it in to your planning should you plan to access any money purchase pension benefits (such as AVCs you have paid to the Pension Fund) using 鈥榙rawdown鈥櫬� provisions while continuing to make contributions to any money purchase pension arrangement. Please note that, if you are able to take the whole of your AVC benefits as a tax-free lump sum, then that does not count as 鈥榙rawdown鈥� and would therefore not trigger the Money Purchase Annual Allowance.

If you have any concerns you may request further information from Joao Rodrigues at Church House. Should you require any advice then Joao will not be able to provide this and you should arrange to speak to a financial advisor.

New state pension

In April 2016, the old Basic State Pension and State Second Pension were replaced with a single-tier State Pension. The new State Pension arrangement only applies to members reaching their State Pension Age from April 2016 onwards 鈥� existing State Pensions are unaffected.

The maximum entitlement under the new State Pension for the 2021/22 tax year is 拢179.60 per week for a single person. To receive the full amount of new State Pension from your State Pension Age you will need 35 qualifying years, earned by either making National Insurance contributions or receiving National Insurance credits. If you have ten or more qualifying years, you will receive some level of the new State Pension.

Moving to non-URC posts

Members may not be aware that there can be pension implications if part of their role is for an organisation other than the URC. Therefore, if you are considering taking up a non-URC post please contact Joao Rodrigues to discuss the potential pension implications.

Some reminders

The Pensions Regulator is the Regulator of work-based pension schemes in the UK. The website has useful links via the Scheme Members section on the home page to a number of useful addresses.

The Trustee and its advisers must hold certain information about you to ensure that the Pension Fund is managed efficiently. In order for the Trustee鈥檚 records to be kept up-todate, please notify the Pension Fund鈥檚 administrators of any changes to your personal circumstances, for example a change of address or marital status. This will ensure the timely payment of pensions and enable the Trustee to keep you informed about any news affecting your benefits.

Members of the Pension Fund should also remember to keep their Expression of Wishes Nomination Form up to date. The Expression of Wishes Nomination Form is used聽 by the Trustee to help decide who should receive the lump sum death benefit and in what proportions. Not having completed a form or failure to keep the form up to date could lead to a delay in settling death benefits. The appropriate form is available on request.

Further information

You can obtain further information on any items covered in this edition of Pensions Update and matters affecting your own pension by contacting Paul Bannister at Church House, 86 Tavistock Place, London, WC1H 9RT.
Telephone: 020 7691 9869
Email: [email protected]