A deferred member has the option to take a Cash Equivalent Transfer Value (CETV) of their deferred benefits to another registered Plan at any time.
If the value of your CETV is more than £30,000 you are required by law to take independent financial advice. However, the Trustee recommends that all members taking a CETV should consider taking independent financial advice.
Subject to the consent of the Trustee you can request to transfer a portion of your Defined Benefit Cash Equivalent Transfer Value(CETV). This is known as a ‘partial transfer’.
To be eligible for a partial transfer certain conditions must apply.
You must have left pensionable service in the Plan.
Your CETV must be at least £30,000 and you must agree to transfer out your Guaranteed Minimum Pensions (GMP).
When you decide to take your remaining benefit, it must come into payment at the same time.
As required by legislation, the assumptions used to calculate Cash Equivalent Transfer Values (CETVs) are set by the Trustee having taken the advice of the Scheme Actuary.
CETVs are calculated by our administrator, Equiniti, using routines produced by our actuarial adviser, Aon. Like many pension schemes in the UK, the CETV assumptions are set with reference to gilt yields. This means that as gilt yields change, Aon provide updated factors in order to enable Equiniti to calculate CETVs.
In the case of the Plan, it has been agreed to update factors to reflect changes in gilt yields once a quarter, using the methodology set out below:
| Effective date of CETV calculation | Date on which gilt yields are determined |
|---|---|
| 1 February to 30 April | 31 December |
| 1 May to 31 July | 31 March |
| 1 August to 31 October | 30 June |
| 1 November to 31 January | 30 September |
Whilst some pension schemes in the UK update their CETV factors every month to reflect changes in gilt yields, the decision was taken to update factors quarterly as this reduced costs and simplified the administration. This approach has been in force since 2014.
Whilst details of the actuarial assumptions used to calculate CETVs are not routinely included in quotes to members, a summary of the assumptions used can be made available to members on request.
For more information on transferring your benefits out of the Plan please refer to the 'Transferring your Benefits out of the HP Plan' guide.