BGCM EC May 2017

 If you should die before your employment with the GFTU ends, provided you are in Pensionable Service, the Trustees will pay your Dependants a lump sum payment equal to three times your Pensionable Pay.  If you die within five years of retiring with a pension, the Trustees will pay your Dependants a lump sum equal to five years’ pension, minus the total amount of the pension that you have been paid up to the date of death.  If you have left the Scheme but you are not yet receiving a pension, and if you die before your pension comes into payment, the Trustees may pay a lump sum to your Dependants, but they are not obliged to do so. The amount of this lump sum is five times the pension you would have received, if you had been entitled to draw your pension immediately before you died.

If you are survived by a Partner when you die, the Trustees will pay your Partner a pension.

 If you die while you are in Pensionable Service, the pension will be equal to half the pension that you would have received if you had retired on the grounds of ill-health.

 If you were a pensioner when you died, the pension will be half the pension you were receiving.

 If you had left your employment with the GFTU, or if you had opted out of the Scheme, the pension will equal half the pension that you had built up when you left Pensionable Service, increased to your date of death as described in Section 10.

If you are survived by dependent children they may be entitled to a pension as well.

The way these Dependants’ benefits are calculated and paid is explained in Sections 8 and 9.

What do you pay?

Members pay either 7% or 8.5% of their Pensionable Pay, depending on the level of their earnings, to meet part of the cost of providing the benefits of the Scheme.

You can opt to top-up your future pension by paying additional voluntary contributions (AVCs). Both regular contributions and AVCs currently enjoy relief from income tax.

See Section 5 of this booklet for more details about contributions.

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