Flexible retirement
Rather than continuing in your job to 65 you may wish to consider the possibility of flexible retirement. From age 55, if you reduce your hours or salary, and provided your employer agrees, you can draw some or all of the pension benefits you have built up. You can still draw the salary from your job on the reduced hours or grade and continue paying into the LGPS, building up further benefits in the Scheme.
All employers in the LGPS must have a flexible retirement policy and you can ask your employer for their policy. You must have your employer's consent for the payment of your pension benefits under flexible retirement. If you were in the LGPS on 31 March 2008, you may have an earlier age that you can ask for flexible retirement.
If you take flexible retirement before age 65 your benefits will be reduced to take account of them being paid for longer. How much your benefits are reduced depends on how early you draw your benefits. Your employer may, however, determine not to apply all or part of any reduction. This is an employer discretion, you can ask your employer it's policy on this matter.
Refer to the benefits reduction table to work out how much your reduction would be.
If you wish to build up a new, separate pension for your future work, your employer will need to send us a starter form for you. This new pension will be independent from the pension you receive under flexible retirement and subsequently will start with zero service.
