Defined Benefit
In a Defined Benefit scheme, or Final Salary scheme, you’ll receive a retirement income for life based on the number of years and months you were a member of the Scheme, your Pensionable Salary, and your accrual rate (the proportion of your Pensionable Salary you will receive as a pension for each year of membership).

Defined Contribution Schemes
In a Defined Contribution scheme, the amount your pension’s worth and how much you receive in retirement, depends on how much money you’ve contributed and the performance of your investments. You can access your pension at any time on or after your 55th birthday, (the Government proposes to increase this to age 57 in 2028).

You have flexibility over how and when you take benefits from your Account, so if you don’t need the money yet, you could leave your pension savings invested with opportunity to grow (although they may also go down in value). You also don’t have to take all of your pension savings at once – you can take just some of your pension savings and then take further benefits at a later date, as and when you need to.

HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) may allow you to take benefits earlier if you’re unable to work due to certain circumstances of serious ill health.