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FAQ

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Defined Benefit members

No matter if you are mid-way through your working life, approaching retirement or recently retired. It’s important to understand the benefits of long-term pension saving and managing your money.

  • Throughout working life

    Get to know your Dun & Bradstreet pension: Read through the website to understand how your pension works and the benefits you receive.

    Will your Plan saving be enough? Check the Buck Member Portal to see and familiarise yourself with your accrued Defined Benefits. If you think your projected income at retirement won’t be enough (taking other pension savings into account), you may want to consider additional pension savings before it’s too late. If you are an active member of the Dun & Bradstreet Plan this can be done via additional savings in our Defined Contributions Plan. If you are a Deferred member please look at your existing employers pension arrangements to see how this can be achieved.

    You should also always be aware of where you are against any Lifetime Savings amount that will, if breached, lead to an additional tax burden.

    It's never too early to seek financial advice. Speaking to an independent financial adviser can help ensure you have the right investments to match your requirements.

  • Thinking about retirement

    Can you afford to retire? Consider how much income you will need in retirement. Useful tools such as the MoneyHelper’s Budget Planner are available for free online.

    Understand your retirement income options: Read up on your options for taking your pension and how they might affect your tax and any State benefits.

  • Moving into retirement

    Get financial advice: Contact Origen Financial Services - if you do not have your own IFA (find out more in the Paid for financial advice section) or Government backed organisations such as MoneyHelper to help you make sure you’ve made the right decision for you.

  • It's time

    Taking your benefits from the Plan: Contact Buck to start the process of taking your benefits from the Plan and take financial advice from Origen or your own IFA if appropriate.

When can I retire?

You can start taking your benefits from the Plan when you reach age 55 (this will increase to 57 in 2028).

What are my options at retirement?

You can choose to either take a regular income for life (a pension) from the Plan, with or without a tax-free Cash Lump Sum, or you can transfer some or all of your benefits out of the Plan to access additional flexibility.

Receive a regular income for life (a pension) from the Plan

A regular income for life (a pension in other words), that increases in value each year, paid on a regular basis, a bit like a salary. You can take some as tax-free cash in return for a lower regular income (For example if your whole pension is worth £60,000. You take £15,000 tax-free. There will be tax deductions off the remaining £45,000), and an income is provided to your spouse (or partner) and/or dependants (up to prescribed age thresholds) if you die.

The Pensions Regulator believes, for most members, it’s likely in their best financial interests to not transfer out of Defined Benefit arrangements. However, it acknowledges, that the flexible options accessed by transferring out may better suit the financial interests of some members in particular circumstances.

Transfer some or all of your pension away from the Plan

You can give up some or all of your pension in exchange for a pot of cash (called a transfer value). You’d need to use this to secure retirement benefits, tailored to your needs, outside of the Plan.

You’ll find an estimate of your current transfer value in your retirement pack. If your transfer value is over £30,000, you cannot transfer out of the Plan without speaking to an Independent Financial Adviser (IFA). You can also obtain a transfer quotation by contacting Buck.

You may be able to transfer some, or all, of your benefits out of the Plan to another pension arrangement and access the flexibilities available including Income Drawdown.

If you currently have funds in the Aviva DC section of the Dun & Bradstreet Plan or Additional Voluntary Contributions (AVCs) then transferring to this policy may be an option to give you the flexibility of options available under the DC section.

As we already have a structure in place with Aviva, there may be advantages in this option for you over a transfer to another Provider. We suggest you discuss this with an authorised IFA.

Remember that your transfer value reflects the expected cost of providing your pension benefits through the Plan. Factors such as the current economic climate are taken into account to calculate your transfer value. Even if your transfer value is under £30,000, we recommend you take financial advice before making any decisions.

Partial transfers

As mentioned above you have the option of taking some of your pension out of the Plan which you can use to access other flexible options such as buying a tailored income for life (an annuity), taking cash as and when you need it (drawdown) or taking it all as cash lump sum. This is called a partial transfer. You would receive the remaining pension as a standard pension from the Plan, payable until you die.

A partial transfer may be possible if you meet the following requirements:

  • You need a minimum Cash Equivalent Transfer Value (CETV) of £150,000 as you need to leave at least £150,000 to generate a pension from the Plan. As you need to leave £150,000 within the Plan to generate a pension. Your cash equivalent transfer value (CETV) has to be in excess of this to make this option worth considering;
  • You can choose to transfer out any amount over and above this amount, provided you transfer out all of your pension built up before 6 April 1997, including your Guaranteed Minimum Pension (GMP), your transfer out includes all of your pension built up;
  • Any Additional Voluntary Contributions you have must be included within the partial transfer;
  • A partial transfer is subject to same checks as a full transfer out of the Plan;
  • Any other money purchase benefits (the money you pay into the Plan is invested with the aim of giving you an amount of money when you retire) you have, including those accrued before April 2004 that may be subject to a defined benefit underpin, must be included within the partial transfer; and
  • When you take your partial transfer, you must also start taking your pension from the Plan, even if you choose to keep working. Therefore, you need to make sure you understand any tax implications of having both a salary and a pension at the same time.

When you take a partial transfer your:

  • Benefits will be split as you have requested them to be, provided the above eligibility requirements are met;
  • Partial Plan pension will be put into payment. You have the option to receive this all as a pension or to receive up to 25% as tax-free cash and the rest as a pension; and
  • Partial transfer will be put into your chosen separate DC arrangement ready for you to access the flexibility offered by that arrangement (e.g. an annuity, drawdown or as cash – as explained above).

The Trustee has appointed Origen Financial Services (Origen), a firm of IFAs that are authorised by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), to help you decide which option is right for you. You don’t have to use Origen, you can choose your own IFA, but you’ll need to meet the cost of their advice.

How to qualify for paid financial advice

The Trustee will pay for financial advice for eligible members to consider their retirement and transfer options.

You will be eligible if:

  • You’re 55 or over;
  • Your transfer value (excluding AVCs) is over £10,000;
  • You’ve not previously taken two paid-for financial advice sessions*; and
  • You’re a resident in the UK.

If you satisfy the above criteria you would be eligible for free advice from Origen (i.e. Trustee paid-for) on your benefits.

You will receive further information along with a consent form when you receive your retirement or transfer figures from Buck.

Please return all forms to Buck, who will forward to Origen. Origen will then contact you directly.

* Please note that the paid-for advice is only available twice. If you take both paid-for advice sessions but then decide not to retire or transfer your benefits, you would need to pay for any advice at a later date.

Alternatively, you can also seek guidance from Pension Wise. You can contact Pension Wise by ringing 0800 280 8880 or 0800 138 3944 and making an appointment. Appointments are conducted over the telephone with The Pensions Advisory Service and face-to-face appointments take place at branches of the Citizens Advice services. You can visit the Pension Wise website for more details.

You may think you won’t fall victim for a scam, but fraudsters have become increasingly sophisticated in their approaches, by producing professional looking brochures and websites promoting attractive but hoax offers.

In some cases, these fraudsters will target pension members offering the chance to convert pensions savings to an immediate cash sum before the minimum pension age (currently age 55 but rising to 57 from 6 April 2028). Using a transfer of your benefits to try and take them below normal minimum pension age is usually against the law so that sort of an offer should ring alarm bells with you.

Please read the following information carefully to ensure you don’t let a scammer steal your pension.

Some of the key facts that apply to all of our pension savings include:

  • The minimum age you can access your pension savings is currently age 55 (this will be 57 from 6 April 2028);
  • All legitimate UK pension schemes must be registered with HMRC and there are checks in place for overseas pension schemes; and
  • It is the law to seek financial advice if your transfer value is £30,000 or over.

Tips on how to protect yourself from pension scams

Reject unexpected offers and advice

If you’re contacted out of the blue about a pension opportunity, chances are its high risk or a scam.

If you get a cold call about your pension, the safest thing to do is to hang up - it’s illegal and probably a scam. Report pension cold calls to the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO).

Be wary if you’re contacted about any financial product or opportunity and they mention using your pension. This is dangerous for you and your money.

Be cautious of offers of free pension reviews. Professional advice on pensions is not free. A free offer out of the blue (from a company you have not dealt with before) is probably a scam. Also be wary of phrases such as ‘pension liberation’, ‘loan’ ‘savings advance’ one-off investment and ‘cashback’. Most of these are key phrases used by scammers.

Other common phrases or actions used by scammers include:

  • Guarantees they can get better returns on pension savings;
  • Help to release cash from a pension before the age of 55, with no mention of the HMRC tax bill that can arise;
  • High pressure sales tactics – time limited offers to get the best deal; using couriers to send documents, who wait until they’re signed;
  • Unusual high-risk investments, which tend to be overseas, unregulated, with no consumer protections;
  • Complicated investment structures; and
  • Long-term pension investments – which often mean people who transfer in do not realise something is wrong for several years.

Don't be talked into something by someone you know, even a friend or family member. They could be getting scammed. Check everything yourself.

Get regulated advice and protect your money

If you are looking for financial advice, check that the Independent Financial Adviser (IFA) is authorised by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), via the Financial Services Register, to protect you and your pension savings, as this will ensure that you have access to the Financial Ombudsman Service or Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS) if things go wrong.

How FSCS protects your money:

Don’t be rushed

The last thing you need is to feel rushed or pressured into making a decision, this is how most scammers behave. Take your time to make all the checks you need, even if this means turning down an ‘amazing deal’.

Remember to do your research, and always check that the IFA, or product, are authorised by the FCA and it is protected by the FSCS. This means if the adviser goes out of business and you’ve lost money because of the poor advice they gave you, the FSCS may be able to compensate you up to £85,000.

BUCK
For further information or queries about your benefits, please contact Buck.

dnbpensionplan@buck.com

0330 123 9687
(Monday to Friday 9am to 5pm)

Dun & Bradstreet (UK) Pension Plan
Buck (Bristol)
PO Box 319
Mitcheldean
GL14 9BF

Click the links below to access some general websites relevant to pensions.

Gov.uk
The official UK Government website for citizens. Directgov is the UK Government’s digital service for people in England and Wales. It delivers information and practical advice about public services, including pensions and retirement planning bringing them all together in one place.

HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC)
HMRC was formed following the merger of the Inland Revenue and HM Customs and Excise departments. It deals with taxation and National Insurance issues.

Local Professional Advice (register.fca.org.uk)
This website will help you find professional advice in your local area from locating an independent financial adviser, to a solicitor.

New State Pension
The State Pension changed for people who reached State Pension Age on or after the 6 April 2016. This link takes you to an introduction of the new State Pension.

The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP)
DWP is responsible for employment, equality, benefits, pensions and child support.

MoneyHelper
MoneyHelper joins up money and pensions guidance to make it quicker and easier to find the right help. MoneyHelper brings together the support and services of three government-backed financial guidance providers: the Money Advice Service, the Pensions Advisory Service and Pension Wise.

The Pension Service
The Pension Service helps with State Pension eligibility, claims and payments.

The Pensions Ombudsman Service
The Pensions Ombudsman investigates and decides complaints and disputes about the way that pension schemes are run.

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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.