vr and pension

[billyboy123]

having been offered vr i have found to get the amount my colleague has been offered i have to withdraw my pension this seems unfair to me im 58 my colleague is 60 and he has 1 yr more service than me but he has already taken his pension lump sum and weekly pension yet is offered just 2000 less than myself i am not having ago at him far from it i say good luck to him and am happy for him but dont understand why i have to cash in my pension to get just a little more money as i seen my pension as a bit of income for when/if i reach 65. could anyone explain how this works please ?. thanks

[Scotland1]

Aren't u best to contact hr or pensions service and they will explain everything to u

[billyboy123]

have done that today bit clearer now but still not happy about having to withdraw my pension to get me to the same level as my mate

[N1-22postman]

Have a look at the Pension forum and this thread - (MTSF estimated offer by N1-22 postman). You don`t have to "cash in your pension". You come out of paying into the pension scheme, then you "defer" taking any lump sum and pension you have built up until you want to take it. If you take your NRA60 benefits at 60 and your NRA65 benefits at 65 then you will not lose any of your pension - they take 5% off for every year that you take your benefits early. You can "defer" taking your NRA 60 benefits until 65 ( I took my NRA60 benefits at 60 because delaying taking them to when I was 65 would not have given me as much money as what I would get taking them at 60).
You do not give details of your offer but for me coming out of the pension scheme gave me a much better offer of VR.
Get advice before deciding, but if you come out of paying into the pension scheme you need to be quick and start coming out well before your last day of service as it takes a number of weeks to come out.

[stodgy88]

Is there anything you can do to enhance your chances of getting VR,such as getting in touch with HR,or is that just a waste of time.

[N1-22postman]

I`m afraid it`s a case of being in the right place at the right time and being near the top of the seniority list. I`ve been waiting years for VR and I`m very lucky to be offered it as I was thinking it was never going to come. At 62 I`m completely wacked every day doing this park and loop - this has come just in time.

[stodgy88]

thanks for reply,what was the reason you where offered it,did they replace you with a agency worker,or not at all

[N1-22postman]

We lost duties with our revision and the introduction of "park and loop" in September 2013, and then our delivery office is being relocated in the near future to a new large office where we will be joining two other postal districts already moved there. We will lose two night duties when this happens.I have a few months still to work and then I assume I will not be replaced.

[stodgy88]

cheers.