Spotlight on 2023

We pay pensions on the last working day of the month, and we pay in arrears. That means, if you choose, for example, a pension start date of 10 November 2023, your first payment would be in your UK bank account on Thursday 30 November and would be pro-rata i.e. 21 days’ worth rather than a full month. First pension payments are usually taxed on an emergency tax code, so it can take a month or two for HMRC to align your tax code and for things to settle down to your regular monthly pension amount. Bear that in mind when you are planning your retirement.

If you are also being paid a tax-free lump sum, that will generally be paid on your chosen pension start date (rather than the last working day of the month), assuming it’s a working day and not a weekend or Bank Holiday. We ask that you give us at least three months’ notice between submitting your application and your chosen pension start date

Use our Pension Calculator on the member portal at btps.co.uk to run and save your own retirement quotes. Read the accompanying documents, then go to My Account, My Documents and then My Saved Quotes. You can choose the quote with the option you want and click the ‘Choose to retire with this quote’ button. Fill in your application online, then print, sign and return it to us along with the ID documents we ask for. In the new year you’ll be able to complete the whole retirement process online, using digital ID verification.

Remember, the Trustee is obliged to periodically review the actuarial factors we use to calculate your pension, for example, if economic conditions change. This means figures provided may change between the date of your quote and when you take your pension. This is why we say quoted figures are an estimate and not guaranteed.

Once you start receiving your pension, you’ll become a BTPS pensioner. At that point, you will be able to see your gross and net monthly pension payments, generate your pension P60 online each April, and have access to your full P60 and payslip history. Staying in touch with your pension has never been easier.