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FAQ

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CARE

Do you really know the value of the pension you’re on target to get at Retirement?

You should have a plan in place that is based around when you want to retire and what level of income you want to retire on. You should do 3 things:

  • Check the Final Salary pension you accrued before that pension scheme closed to future accrual (this will be shown on your Leaver Statement – if you’re unsure on where this is then please contact Buck using the Contact tab above);
  • Check your most recent Defined Benefit pension statement – this will provide you with a value of your benefit accrued to date and the projected value of your benefit when you reach retirement age, and
  • If, following careful review, you think your projected income at retirement won't be enough, then you should consider making Additional Voluntary Contributions before it's too late.

Know where to find the Defined Benefit Pension Scheme booklet?

No. Well here it is, providing you with lots of useful information such as:

  • what the Defined Benefit provides you;
  • What contributions you pay;
  • How you can increase your contributions;
  • Benefits at retirement, and more.

We also provide the Defined Benefit Booklet Appendix.

Consider Annual Allowance & Lifetime Allowance changes

You should check carefully the amount you pay into your pension to make sure you don’t become liable for a tax payment. This is due to restrictions being put in place to limit the amount of contributions employees can save for on an annual basis and also from a lifetime perspective. More information can be found by reading the article here, but if you do have any questions then we recommend you speaking with a qualified financial advisor. Check the contacts tab above for further details.

Information Zone – all the relevant guides, forms and further information on the Defined Benefit Plan are provided here as well as other useful documents such as information on Additional Voluntary Contributions.

See what you've earned to date in the Scheme

Check your Final Salary Leaver Statement and your most recent Defined Benefit pension statement. Ask yourself 'Is this going to be enough to live on when I come to retire'?

Flexibility when you retire

You now have more options available to you at retirement in terms of how you take your pension… view the video to find out more and to discuss any of this further, contact Aviva using the details provided under the Contacts tab.

Check the DB Portal – this contains useful information on your Defined Benefit plan.

You can access the DB Portal to see details on your previous Defined Benefit plan. If you’ve forgotten your log in details then please contact Buck using the details on the Contacts tab.

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Flexibility when you retire

You now have more options available to you at retirement in terms of how you take your pension… view the video to find out more and to discuss any of this further, contact Friends Life using the details provided under the Contacts tab.

The Barber Judgment and the equal treatment of men and women

Generally speaking pension Plan’s used to have different retirement ages for Men and Women for example; 65 for men and 60 for women. This practice was challenged in the European Court of Justice in 1990 and it was ruled that Trustees must pay equal or comparable benefits to men and women from that date.

How this changed the Dun & Bradstreet Pension Plan

The Dun and Bradstreet Plan equalised normal retirement ages for men and women, before the Barber judgment, on 6 April 1988. Before this date men had a normal retirement age of 65 and women had a normal retirement age of 60.

Any person that joined the Plan after 6 April 1988 has a normal retirement age of 65 regardless of gender.

Any person that joined the Plan before 6 April 1988 has a normal retirement age of 60 for their service between 17 May 1990 to 31 March 2004; a normal retirement age of 65 for service after 31 March 2004; and a normal retirement age of 65 or 60 depending on gender for service before 17 May 1990.