About Your Benefits
Payment of Pension
MPS pensions are normally payable every four weeks, that is two weeks in advance and two weeks in arrears. For small pensions, payment is made quarterly or annually. Pensions are usually paid into your UK bank or building society account by direct credit from the Scheme’s bank account. Payment by cheque or girocheque is no longer available.
If you are living abroad, payments can be made to your overseas account although there may be additional bank charges. The Scheme offers an option to pay pensions to those living overseas quarterly or annually in order to reduce these costs and exchange rate losses.
Changes in circumstances
In most cases, pensions are payable for life, unless they were paid on the understanding that payment would only continue while the recipient meets certain qualifying conditions – for example, where a pension is being paid for the duration of a child’s education, or where a Serious Ill Health pension was awarded. Since 1979, widow’s benefits have been payable for life, even after re-marriage. However, the Scheme will need to be informed about the re-marriage in order to make sure we are making payments, and addressing correspondence, correctly.
Some changes in circumstances will affect payment of pension. All of the changes listed below should be reported to the Scheme’s administrators, who will confirm whether they affect the benefits payable to you.
What changes should be reported?
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Deaths - including the death of a Scheme member, a dependant or a deferred member |
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Changes of address |
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Closure of a bank account, or a change of account number |
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A move to a retirement home, or to a nursing home |
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A return to fitness for work, where Serious Ill Health Benefits were awarded |
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Remarriage |
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If a child leaves school, or reaches age 21 if before (if a child’s pension is in payment) |
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A divorce |
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A change of name |
Failure to notify the Administration Office of a change could result in an overpayment of Scheme benefits. In all cases, the Trustees have a duty to recover overpayments of MPS benefit and will take whatever action they consider necessary to recover overpaid money.
Confirming continuing entitlement to benefits
Our administrators make regular checks with a specialist tracing agency to ensure that the Scheme is advised where the death of a pensioner might have gone unreported. If we receive a report of a death, and we are not contacted by the next of kin within a reasonable period, we will write to our pensioner’s address to confirm the position.
It is important, and in the interest of all members, that Scheme benefits are paid only to those who are entitled to receive them. The Trustees are responsible for looking after the assets of the Scheme for every member. The Trustees would be accountable to members if they did not take action to recover any overpaid benefit. If fraud is involved, the Trustees will pursue the return of any money received fraudulently and, if necessary, take legal action to recover it.
Taxation considerations
Pensions in payment are taxed under PAYE, although lump sums paid from the Scheme are generally free of tax. If you have another pension arrangement which has yet to come into payment, you may be asked how much of your Lifetime Allowance is taken up by MPS benefits before that pension can be paid without incurring very high tax charges. More information about the Lifetime Allowance is covered in the next section but if your pension is already in payment you can work out the value of your MPS benefits against the Lifetime Allowance by multiplying your annual pension by 25 and, if you left the MPS before 1 March 1992, adding any separate lump sum. If you retired after 5 April 2006, the Lifetime Allowance figure will have been quoted on your retirement statement.
