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Retiring

When can I retire?

You can start taking your pension benefits at any time from age 55 (this is increasing to age 57 from April 2028). The earlier you start taking your benefits, the less time you’ll have for your pension fund to build up, and the longer you’ll need it to last.

Steps to retirement

If you have any questions along the way, please contact the Plan administrator, Isio, who will be able to help. Before you begin, you might want to log in and use the Planner see what you could get a different ages.

  • Request a retirement pack from Isio by completing the Request Retirement Quote form – this will ensure Isio have all the information to process your request. If you don’t request one, you’ll receive a retirement pack six months before your target retirement age.
  • If the retirement date you provide is more than six months away, Isio will provide an estimate of your retirement benefits to help with your planning. If you decide to proceed with retirement, complete the Request Retirement Quote form again when you are within three months of your intended retirement date to request your final retirement pack.
  • Take guidance or financial advice – and tell Isio you have done so – to help you understand your options and decide what’s right for you. If you are aged 50 or over, you may be eligible for free and impartial guidance from Pension Wise before making your retirement decisions.

  • Decide whether you’ll be using income drawdown, buying an annuity, taking cash or a combination of these. See Retirement options for more details.

  • Research the market for your choice of drawdown or annuity provider.
  • Beware of scams.
  • Complete the retirement option forms from Isio to process your retirement choice. If you are planning to continue working at Cummins after taking your retirement benefits, please log in and opt-out before returning your options form. You can rejoin the Plan, in the same way, after this process is complete if you wish to continue contributing.
  • Start enjoying your retirement.

New opportunities

No longer having to work might feel strange at first, but once the novelty has worn off, you might want to find something to do with the time you’ve now got on your hands.

Here are a few ideas:

  • Hobbies – now is your chance to do all those things you love, that you didn’t have time for around hours spent at work.
  • Learn something new – retirement is a great time to develop new skills and interests. Check out the Open University, your local college or the University of the Third Age.
  • Volunteer – utilise your transferrable skills and get more involved in your local community.
  • Work – this might be the last thing you fancy doing but many people take some part-time work to give structure to their lives, earn a bit of extra money or do something they enjoy.

 

Take care of yourself

Don’t forget to take advantage of the different health benefits you become entitled to when you reach certain ages:

  • Free NHS eye test when you’re over 60
  • Free NHS prescriptions in England and Wales when you’re over 60
  • Flu jab – free to anyone over 65
  • Free health check – anyone between the ages of 40 and 74 is eligible for a free NHS health check every five years.