I joined the Scheme soon after starting on British Rail back in 1967.
To begin with, being young and not thinking too much about getting old, I wanted to have money then, but some older railwaymen counselled me into being aware of the benefits. We had no financial advisors in those days.
The Scheme itself offered one of the best pensions around, what with four times your salary if death occurs in service, and the final salary scheme paid 2/3rds of your salary. When BRASS came out, I joined that and then later BRASS 2, as that would add even more to my final pension pot using additional voluntary contributions (AVC’s).
I had dreamed of retiring at 50, but when I got there, I realised I was too young to finish! I was fortunate enough to take voluntary redundancy in 1997, and used some of that money to buy more years in the pension fund, thus building up the amount I could take as a pension later.
I opted for the level-pension option and a larger lump sum when I took my pension, mainly because I wanted to ensure I got something out of my pension pot at a time when pension schemes elsewhere were being raided to fund restructuring initiatives, and also I didn’t know how long I would be drawing it – better in my pocket then elsewhere.
Now that I am retired, I am glad that I had the foresight to look forward to retiring early and planning for it. Given that the State pension age has shot up in recent years and is continuing to do so, it is even more important to plan ahead as it is becoming much harder for anyone to consider early retirement.
In my retirement, I can now do and enjoy many things. I'm a Trustee with Age UK, take part in local hospice and community work and am also a police volunteer. I enjoy world cruises of 3-4 months' duration, and also use my protected free travel a lot.
I would say definitely join the pension scheme and plan for the future! By all means take financial advice, but PLAN, PLAN, PLAN!
Derek has kindly contributed this case study as a personal viewpoint of the RPS. Please note that neither the Trustee, your employer nor RPMI can offer financial advice. It is strongly recommended that you seek independent financial advice before making any decisions about your pensions or retirement planning.