Pension Service Sets Out Retirement Procedure and Opens Applications

The Pension Service of the Velocity Interoperability Network today published the procedure by which members of the Network Pension Scheme retire and draw their pension, and confirmed that it is ready to receive applications from today. Members may retire with an unreduced pension at the normal pension age of 66, at any age from 56 with a reduction for early payment, or at any age up to 72 with an increase for late payment. Members who have reached the age of 56 may, with the agreement of their employer, draw part of their pension while continuing to work reduced hours.

The procedure has six steps: a request for an estimate, notice to the employer, the employer's confirmation of the last day of pensionable service, the member's retirement declaration and choice of lump sum, the Service's award letter, and the first payment. The Service undertakes to issue an estimate within ten working days of a request and an award letter within twenty working days of receiving a complete declaration and the employer's confirmation. Pensions are paid monthly in arrears on the last working day of each month.

The 212 pensions in payment transferred to the scheme from the predecessor arrangements of member organisations will be paid by the Service for the first time on 30 September 2026, on the terms on which they were previously paid. Members who are already over the normal pension age at establishment may retire on any date from 6 September 2026 on giving the notice their employer requires. The procedure, the early and late retirement factors and answers to common questions about retirement are set out on the Retirement page of this site.