The Royal Mail scheme has undergone several changes which are outlined in this diagram. In summary:

If you joined the scheme after 1 April 1987 and before 1 April 2008 you will have benefits in Section C. 

If you joined the scheme after December 1971 and before 1 April 1987 you will have benefits in Section B.

If you joined the scheme before December 1971 and didn’t transfer to Section B you will have benefits in Section A.

If you have benefits in Sections A, B or C and were still working for Royal Mail on 1 April 2018 you will have switched to building up benefits in the Cash Balance scheme. 

Any benefits earned before 1 April 2012 are paid by the Royal Mail Statutory Pension Scheme (RMSPS). Any benefits earned after that date are paid by the Royal Mail Pension Plan (RMPP). The RMPP’s website is www.royalmailpensionplan.co.uk and you will need to go there if you joined a Royal Mail scheme after 1 April 2008 or have benefits in the Cash Balance scheme. 

If you have benefits in RMSPS but have not yet started to draw a pension from these benefits then you are a deferred member. Some members may have some benefits which are payable at age 60 and some which are payable at age 65 so may have a pension in payment and also some deferred benefits.

Yes. The administration of the RMPP remains with the Royal Mail Group PSC. From 1 October members of both schemes will therefore receive separate correspondence with respect to their RMSPS benefits and their RMPP benefits. There will be separate helplines and email addresses for each scheme.

If you joined the Royal Mail Pension Plan before 1 April 2008 you will have benefits in the RMSPS. You may also have RMSPS benefits if you were a partner or a dependant of a deceased RMSPS member and were eligible for a widow’s/ widower’s pension or a dependant’s pension.

The Royal Mail Group PSC administers the RMSPS under a contract with Cabinet Office agreed in 2012. In advance of that contract expiring in 2018, the Cabinet Office undertook a procurement process which allowed other providers to bid for the work. Based on the published selection criteria Capita were the winning bidder and were awarded the contract to administer the scheme.

No. Your RMSPS benefits continue to be underwritten by the government. The money to pay for your RMSPS benefits will continue to come from HM Treasury.

If you are returning forms received before 1 October please return these to the Royal Mail Group PSC even after 1 October. The PSC will ensure any relevant RMSPS information is passed to Capita to process.

If you started paying AVCs after April 2008 then you will have made contributions to a separate money purchase fund set up in your name. This fund will have been managed by Zurich Assurance, the scheme’s AVC provider. You could also have paid into a separate money purchase fund before April 2008 managed by either Equitable Life, Standard Life or Norwich Union whoever was managing the fund you paid into will have details of your fund value (if you left it invested with them when you left Royal Mail) and will send you an annual benefit statement each year. If you have lost touch with them, please contact us for information.

If you paid AVCs before April 2008 you may have joined Addplan. Addplan worked by allowing you to buy extra years of service in the RMPP scheme. If you took part in Addplan, any years you bought will be shown on your annual benefit statement. If you have any queries about Addplan, you should contact us.

Yes. This year your Current Value Statement will be issued by the Royal Mail Group PSC during September. You should contact them with any queries regarding your statement.

Yes. This year, your Benefit Illustration will be issued by the Royal Mail Group PSC in October. You should contact them with any queries regarding your illustration.

If you made additional contributions to AVC arrangements (e.g. Flexiplan or Bonusplan) these will continue to be administered by the Royal Mail Group PSC.

If you are in receipt of a RMSPS pension it will continue to be paid on the same day. The reference in your bank account statement will remain ‘RM-Stat Pension’.

Yes. Payments will continue to be made on the same date and in the same currency as per current arrangements.

NRA is the age at which you can normally take your pension without reduction. Any benefits you earned before 1 April 2010 have a NRA of 60. Benefits earned after 1 April 2010 have a NRA of 65. You can opt to take all your benefits at once, but any benefits taken before NRA will be reduced for early payment. Alternatively you can take only your benefits with a NRA of 60 at age 60 and take your NRA 65 benefits later so they are not reduced.

You may be able to take your benefits early without a reduction if you are suffering from ill health. You can find out more about this in our Guide to benefits. 

No. If you have already made an application then the Royal Mail Group PSC will continue to process your application. They will arrange for the application to be passed to Capita on 1 October. Capita will then contact you to finalise arrangements to start paying your pension.

You should continue to contact the Royal Mail Group PSC until 1 October. For applications made after 1 October you should contact Capita via the contact details contained in the introductory letter. If you are approaching your Normal Retirement Age 60 or Normal Retirement Age 65 retirement date you will be contacted automatically by the Royal Mail Group PSC before 1 October and by Capita after 1 October.

This year your P60 and week one (or monthly) payslip will be combined in one letter.

If you are paid quarterly, you will receive details of your revised payments and P60 towards the end of April or in early May. This is to ensure you receive your information before Her Majesty’s Revenue & Customs deadlines.

Your P60 outlines the pension you’ve received and the tax deducted in the tax year 2018/19. Sometimes the amount shown before tax on your P60 will be different from your annual rate of pension for that year. This may be because:

• Your pension started during the tax year,
• Your pension is paid in arrears and the first payment you received in the tax year included pension covering one or more days before 6 April 2018,
• Your pension was not paid in full for the whole year.

Section A/B members (members who joined the Scheme between 1969 and 1987)
Public service pensions are increased annually by the same percentage as State Additional Pensions (the State Earnings Related Pension and the State Second Pension). It is applied in April and is based on the increase in the Consumer Prices Index (CPI) in the 12 months to September of the previous year. The pensions increase to be applied to pensions in payment will be 2.4% for 2019/20. The increase will take effect from 8 April 2019.

Note: Increases may be proportioned if you took retirement benefits during the Scheme year and increases may be lower if you have a Guaranteed Minimum Pension (GMP) and your State Pension Age (SPA) was before 6 April 2016.

Section C members (members who joined the Scheme between 1987 and 2008)
The increase applied to your pension will be based on the increases in the Retail Price Index (RPI) for the previous September. This year’s increase is 3.3%

Increases and Guaranteed Minimum Pension (GMP) this applies to sections A/B and C

• Pre-88 GMP
  If you reached State Pension age on or before 5 April 2016 the increase to the GMP element of your benefits built up before 1988 (if any) will be paid with the State Pension.
• Post-88 GMP
  The increase to the GMP element of your pension built up from 1988 will be paid up to a maximum of 3% by the Scheme. This increase cannot exceed the standard increase for the year.

Examples of impact of GMP on pension increase calculations

Section A/B

A member receiving a pension of £8,000 as at 24 March will see their increase applied through the following three elements:

• Pre-88 GMP:        £1,500
• Post 88 GMP:         £2,500
• Remaining Scheme pension: £4,000

Increases applied as follows:

• Pre-88 GMP:        £1,500 (no increase)  £1,500
• Post 88 GMP:         £2,500 x 2.4%     £2,560
• Remaining Scheme pension: £4,000 x 2.4%     £4,096

Total annual rate of pension from 8 April = £8,156

Section C

A member receiving a pension of £8,000 as at 24 March will see their increase applied through the following three elements:

• Pre-88 GMP:        £1,500
• Post 88 GMP:         £2,500
• Remaining Scheme pension: £4,000

Increases applied as follows:

• Pre-88 GMP:        £1,500 (no increase)    £1,500
• Post 88 GMP:         £2,500 x 3%       £2,575
• Remaining Scheme pension: £4,000 x 3.3%      £4,132

Total annual rate of pension from 8 April = £8,207

The increase date for your pension this year is 8 April, therefore the pension payment you receive in April will be increased only for part of the month.

April’s payment will be paid as follows:

• The 1^st to 7^th – will be paid at the old rate
• The 8^th to 30^th – will be paid at the new rate

May’s payment will be paid fully at the new rate.

Example

Annual salary at 1 April 2019 = £10,000 (£833.33 per month)

Increase due 2.4% = £10,000 + 2.4% = £10,240 (£853.33 per month)

April Payment

Days in period  x  Monthly rate
Days in month

01 to 07 April  x  £833.33 (old rate) = £194.44
01 to 30 April

08 to 30 April  x  £853.33 (new rate) = £654.22
01 to 30 April

Total due April = £848.66