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Retiring early

Reductions for early leavers & protections

If you choose to retire earlier than your normal pension age (NPA) your pension benefits may be reduced for earlier payment. The earliest you can choose to retire is from age 55.

In September 2020, the Government re-confirmed its plan to increase the minimum age from 55 to 57, with effect from 2028. We'll update our website when we have more information about this from the Government.

There are protections in place for some members of staff who were members of the Scheme prior to October 2006 and who qualified for the 85 year rule protections.

For more details on early payment reductions, see our When can I take my pension? factsheet.

85 year rule explained

If you were a member of the Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS) before 1 October 2006, your benefits may be protected under the '85 year rule'.

The 85 year rule is where we take a member’s age and qualifying years of service in the Scheme, and if it comes to 85 or over at the point they wish to take their benefits, and they're aged over 60, it means they may be able to take their benefits unreduced at that point. 

Watch our '85 year rule explained' video to easily understand how it works.

Download our 85 year rule flowchart to help you easily understand how the 85 year rule applies to your circumstances.

Check if you're protected under the 85 year rule

We've also created a helpful tool below for you to see instantly if you're protected under the 85 year rule. Simply answer each question by clicking 'Yes' or 'No' to see if you're eligible.

When using this tool, you may see footnotes such as 'LGPS service1', 'full2 85 year rule protections' or 'full3 85 year rule protections'. To understand what they mean, click on the 'Footnote' boxes below.

Disclaimer - This tool is not intended to cover every personal circumstance, nor does it confer any contractual or statutory rights and is provided for information purposes only. In the event of any dispute over your pension benefits the appropriate legislation will prevail.

85 year rule eligibility checker

    Footnotes

    ‘LGPS service’

    'LGPS service' is worked out using your EAPF membership and any membership you’ve brought into the EAPF from:

    • Some transfers into the Scheme
    • Earlier EAPF service or service in a different LGPS fund
    • Any additional years and days (‘added years’) that you’ve bought

    If you’ve been a part time member, your calendar length service is used when working out your 85 year rule.

    If you're no longer a contributing member, the service you would've built up had you carried on contributing to the Scheme is used when working out your 85 year rule.

    Please note you will not have any 85 year rule protections if you’re a former civil servant who compulsory transferred to the Environment Agency on 1 April 1996 (a ‘HMIP member’).

    Meaning of ‘full 85 year rule protections’

    Meaning of 'full 85 year rule protections'

    If you meet the 85 year rule before age 65* and draw your benefits before age 60, any benefits with full protection will be reduced for early payment to the later of the date you meet the 85 year rule or age 60.

    If you meet the 85 year rule before age 65* and draw your benefits from age 60 or after, any benefits with full protection will be reduced for early payment to the date you meet the 85 year rule (no reduction applies if you’ve already met this).

    *Please note this is the latest age you can be seen as meeting the 85 year rule. However, your benefits don’t have to be paid at the point you meet the 85 year rule. You can choose to take your benefits at any time between age 55 and 75 (please see above as there are some reductions/restrictions that could apply).

    If you meet the 85 year rule before age 60 and want to draw your benefits before age 60, you can ask your employer to ‘switch on’ the 85 year rule to lower (in some cases, remove) the reduction that would apply for taking early payment of your benefits. This comes at a cost to your employer, so they’ll only consider doing this under exceptional circumstances.

    However, if you meet the above criteria and your employer agrees to ‘switch on’ the 85 year rule, the following will apply:

    • If you meet the 85 year rule on or before your proposed retirement date, your benefits protected by the 85 year rule won’t be reduced for early payment.
    • If you don’t meet the 85 year rule on or before your proposed retirement date, your benefits protected by the 85 year rule will be reduced for early payment to the date you meet the 85 year rule.

    Please note, if your employer allows you to take partial retirement, they’ll automatically ‘switch on’ the 85 year rule.

    Meaning of ‘partial 85 year rule protections’

    Meaning of 'partial 85 year rule protections'

    If you meet the 85 year rule before age 65 and draw your benefits before age 65, any benefits with partial 85 year rule protection will have a smaller reduction applied for early payment to age 65, when compared to someone with a normal reduction for early payment to age 65.

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