AA Pension Scheme

Scheme information

Normal retirement

How your benefits are calculated at your Normal Retirement Date (NRD) will depend on which section of the Scheme you are a member of.

Please select your Scheme section from the dropdown below for more information.

If you’re unsure of which section you’re in, please login to the Member Portal

It might be the case that you have been a member of various Sections of the Scheme (e.g. a you were a member of Staff, Management 1 or Management 2 and then transferred to CARE). If this is the case, your benefits will be calculated differently and you'll need to contact Aon, the Scheme Administrators for a full breakdown. Remember, the information within this website provides you with a summary of the benefits offered by the Scheme. If there is any conflict between the website content and the Trust Deed and Rules, then the Trust Deed and Rules will take precedence. For more information, visit the Disclaimer page.

Staff

If you retire on your Normal Retirement Date (NRD) you will be entitled to an annual pension income equal to 1/60th of your final pensionable earnings for each full year (and proportionately for each complete month) of pensionable employment.

If you were a reduced accrual member who elected to pay 7.85% of pensionable earnings until your pensionable employment ended, benefits on and from 1st September 2003 accrued at the reduced rate of 1/60th of your final pensionable earnings for each year (and proportionately for each complete month) of pensionable employment.

Example

A reduced accrual member contributed to the Staff Section of the Scheme for 15 years (10 years prior to 1 September 2003 and 5 years after 1 September 2003) and retired at normal retirement date with final pensionable earnings of £12,000.

The normal retirement pension is calculated as:

  • 10/60 x £12,000 = £2,000 per year

Total pension = £2,750 per year

Please note

If you are a part-timer, your pension benefits will be directly proportional to the number of hours you are contracted to work. For instance, if you work half the full-time hours, you will pay contributions based on your actual pensionable earnings and build up half the pension of an equivalent full-time employee. If you work both full-time and part-time during your career, each period will be treated accordingly. The part-time service and pensionable earnings will be adjusted to the full-time equivalent and added to the full-time entitlement. This means that your pension is protected if your hours change.

At retirement, your accumulated annual retirement income will be paid as a monthly pension, which is taxed. You will have the option to exchange part of it for a tax free cash sum.

Care

The earliest that you can retire is 55 and your deferred benefit would have been calculated at date of leaving pensionable service as follows. For each year that you contributed to CARE, you earned a basic amount of retirement income. This annual sum would have been added to the accumulated income you had built up in previous years.

The retirement income amount earned each year will have been based on your pensionable pay in that year and your build rate. To take account of inflation, your accumulated retirement income is also revalued.

If you contributed for only part of a year, then your basic amount earned in that year and the revaluation will have been adjusted accordingly.

Your deferred pension will then be revalued in line with inflation to your normal retirement date.

Your basis amount

Your basic amount of retirement income earned in a year is based on that year’s pensionable pay. It is calculated as your build rate multiplied by your pensionable pay e.g:

1.25% x £22,500 = £281.25

Your build rate

Your build rate is the percentage used to calculate your basic amount each year. You would have had the opportunity to elect a different build rate with effect from 1 April each year. Each build rate requires a different contribution rate.

Your annual revaluation

Each year on 1 April your accumulated retirement income will be revalued in line with inflation up to a maximum of 2.5% for pensionable service accrued after 1 July 2010. There are some members who joined the CARE Section of the Scheme on or after 1 October 2005 with benefits earned before 1 April 2010 who are not guaranteed an increase.

The information on this page provides you with a summary of the benefits offered by the Scheme.

If there is any conflict between the website content and the Trust Deed and Rules, then the Trust Deed and Rules will take precedence. For more information, visit the Disclaimer page.

At retirement, your accumulated annual retirement income will be paid as a monthly pension, which is taxed. You will have the option to exchange part of it for a tax free cash sum.

From 1 April 2018 the measure for price inflation is the Consumer Prices Index (‘CPI’).

Management – 1

If you retire on your Normal Retirement Date (NRD) you will be entitled to an annual pension income based on your accrual rate.

The accrual rate will be applied to your final pensionable earnings for each full year (and proportionately for each complete month) of pensionable employment.

If you need to find out your accrual rate, please contact the Scheme Administrator.

Please note

If you are a part-timer, your pension benefits will be directly proportional to the number of hours you are contracted to work. For instance, if you work half the full-time hours, you will pay contributions based on your actual pensionable earnings and build up half the pension of an equivalent full-time employee. If you work both full-time and part-time during your career, each period will be treated accordingly. The part-time service and pensionable earnings will be adjusted to the full-time equivalent and added to the full-time entitlement. This means that your pension is protected if your hours change.

At retirement, your accumulated annual retirement income will be paid as a monthly pension, which is taxed. You will have the option to exchange part of it for a tax free cash sum.

Management – 2

If you retire on your Normal Retirement Date (NRD) you will be entitled to an annual pension income equal to 1/57th of your final pensionable earnings for each full year (and proportionately for each complete month) of pensionable employment.

If you are a reduced accrual member who has elected to pay 7.85% of pensionable earnings until your pensionable employment ends, benefits on and from 1st September 2003 accrue at the reduced rate of 1/60th of your final pensionable earnings for each year (and proportionately for each complete month) of pensionable employment.

Please note

If you are a part-timer, your pension benefits will be directly proportional to the number of hours you are contracted to work. For instance, if you work half the full-time hours, you will pay contributions based on your actual pensionable earnings and build up half the pension of an equivalent full-time employee. If you work both full-time and part-time during your career, each period will be treated accordingly. The part-time service and pensionable earnings will be adjusted to the full-time equivalent and added to the full-time entitlement. This means that your pension is protected if your hours change.

At retirement, your accumulated annual retirement income will be paid as a monthly pension, which is taxed. You will have the option to exchange part of it for a tax free cash sum.