LIFETRACK
Your membership
Leaving the RWE Group
Leaving the Main Section
You automatically cease being a Contributing Member if you leave your Employer and do not immediately join another Employer that also permits its employees to be members of the Main Section.
You can also choose to cease being a Contributing Member at any time while continuing to work for your Employer by giving two complete calendar months’ notice.
If you cease being a Contributing Member you will not normally be allowed to re-join the Main Section at a later date.
Your leaving benefits
When you cease to be a Contributing Member, you become a Deferred Member entitled to a deferred pension and lump sum under the Main Section. Your deferred pension and lump sum will be based on your Contributing Service to and Pensionable Salary at your date of leaving.
Your deferred pension and lump sum are increased for the period from you stopping being a Contributing Member to you taking your benefits in the same way as pensions in payment.
Transfers out
As an alternative to your deferred pension, you may be able to transfer your benefits from the Main Section to another pension arrangement by taking a “transfer value”. The option to transfer your benefits is available only up to your Normal Pension Age. Please contact the Administrator of RWE Group, WTW, if you wish to consider transferring your benefits from the Main Section.
The Administrator of RWE Group, WTW, will provide you with a quotation of the transfer value of your benefits. Your transfer value will depend on several factors, including economic conditions. The amount of your transfer value is subject to a minimum guarantee and cannot be less than the value of your own contributions, plus the National Insurance rebate your Employer received as a result of you being contracted-out, plus interest.
Your benefits in the Main Section are valuable and it is important to take financial advice if you wish to transfer them to another pension scheme. If your transfer value is £30,000 or more, it is a legal requirement for you to take independent financial advice if you wish to transfer the benefits to a defined contribution or money purchase arrangement such as a personal pension scheme.
Different pension providers offer different options in relation to what you can do with defined contribution or money purchase benefits, including the option to select an annuity, or receive drawdown payments or cash lump sums.
Disclaimer
This guide is a summary of the main provisions of the RWE Group relevant to you and your benefits. It is not, and is not intended to be, a summary of every detail of the RWE Group or to cover every set of circumstances.
The RWE Group’s detailed benefit provisions are set out in its formal governing documents, the trust deed and rules. This guide summarises the benefits provided by the RWE Group and its related provisions. Whilst every effort has been made to summarise the benefits and provisions of the RWE Group accurately, if there are any differences between this guide and the trust deed and rules, the trust deed and rules (as amended from time to time) will apply and override the terms of this guide.
This guide is dated January 2025. Every effort has been made to ensure the guide is up to date and accurate at the time of writing, however, subsequent changes to the RWE Group’s governing documents, applicable legislation and/or the tax regime may consequently affect its accuracy or completeness.