Under the current law, you can take your pension at any time from age 55 with Nestlé’s consent, although the government is raising this to age 57 from April 2028. You can find out more about this change on the gov.uk website.

For more information about retiring before or after your normal pension age, see Choosing when to retire.

The options you’ll have at retirement will depend on the section(s) of the Fund you’ve been in. To see information relevant to you, log into your online account or use our scheme selector.

If you’ve worked for Nestlé before, you can now take the deferred benefits that you built up in your previous period of service while you are still working for Nestlé.

Read more about choosing when to retire.

Most members will need to be 55 (rising to age 57 in 2028) or over to access their deferred pension. However, some members may have a protected pension age which allows them to access their deferred pension from age 50. To find out when you can access a previous deferred pension from, please contact Nestlé Pensions.

Read more about taking your benefits.

What will you receive?

As a DC Start or DC Core member, you can choose how to use your DC account to provide an income in retirement. You can choose one or a combination of the following:

As a DB Core or DB CorePlus member, you’ll receive a pension for the rest of your life from the Fund and, under the current law, you’ll usually have the option to take up to 25% of the value of your benefits as a tax-free cash lump sum.

If you build up benefits in more than one section, your pension will be calculated for each period of service in DB Core and DB CorePlus, and then added together. For a reminder of how your pension is calculated in DB Core and DB CorePlus, see Overview of sections.

How your pension will be paid

Your pension from DB Core and/or DB CorePlus will be paid monthly for the rest of your life directly from the Fund into your bank or building society. If you retire mid-month, the first payment will include a proportionate amount for the month you retired in. You will pay income tax on your pension in the same way as you do on your pay at the moment, although your tax code might change, but you do not pay National Insurance on your pension income.

If you have also have a DC Core account, either because you have made additional voluntary contributions, transferred pension in or have earned more than the pensionable earnings cap, you can choose how to provide benefits from one or a combination of the following:

Pre-August 2017 benefits

If you built up benefits in the lanes before 1 August 2017, you will also receive any pension you built up in Lanes 2 or 3 of the Fund. If you built up a Lane 1 account, this transferred into DC Core and you will have the options described above.

Once you’re receiving your pension built up before August 2017, it receives increases each year to help it keep pace with inflation. The Fund increases your pension built up before 6 April 2006 in line with the rise in the retail prices index (also known as RPI) up to a maximum of 5% a year, and your pension built up from 6 April 2006 in line with the rise in consumer prices index (also known as CPI) up to a maximum of 2.5% a year.

Pre-August 2010 benefits

If you were a member of the Fund before August 2010, you will also receive the pension you built up to 31 July 2010, increased in line with the retail prices index (also referred to as RPI) up to a maximum of 5% a year to the date you retire. Nestlé may increase your benefits above 5% but is not required to.

If you were a member of the final salary section of the Purina UK Pension Plan before August 2010, you will receive your pension built up to 31 July 2010 in that plan, increased in line with the retail prices index (also referred to as RPI) up to a maximum of 5% a year to the date you retire. Nestlé may increase your benefits above 5% but is not required to.

Your Purina pension deduction was also calculated at 31 July 2010 and, as long as you remain in Nestlé's employment, is increased in line with the retail prices index (also referred to as RPI) up to a maximum of 5% each year until your state pension age. For more information about the deduction see the Pension Deduction leaflet.

If you were a member of the Purina Pension Savings Plan before August 2010, the value of your account in the Pension Savings Plan transferred into Lane 1 of the Fund at 1 August 2010 and then transferred into DC Core at 1 August 2017. You can choose how to provide benefits from your DC Core account from the options described above.

If you were a member of the Nestlé Waters UK Ltd Retirement Benefit Scheme before August 2010, the value of your account in that scheme transferred into Lane 1 of the Fund at 1 August 2010 and then transferred into DC Core at 1 August 2017. You can choose how to provide benefits from your DC Core account from the options described above.

If you built up benefits in any other arrangement that merged into the Fund before August 2010, you should refer to the details you received about how your benefits increase to keep pace with inflation.

If you transferred from the Rowntree Pension Fund to the Nestlé Rowntree Pension Fund in April 1992, you will have a Value for Money Guarantee. For more information see the Value for Money Guarantee Leaflet.

Pension increases in retirement

Once you’re receiving your pension from DB Core and/or DB CorePlus, it increases each year to help the value of it keep pace with inflation. The Fund increases your pension built up in DB Core and DB CorePlus each year on 6 April in line with the rise in the consumer price index (also known as CPI), up to a maximum of 2.5% a year. If you have been retired for less than a year, the increase to your pension will be a proportion of the full increase based on the number of days between your date of retirement and the date of the increase. Once the pension has been paid for more than a year you will receive the full increase from 6 April each year.

If you choose to use your DC Start or DC Core account to provide a pension by buying an annuity, any increases your pension will receive will depend on the options you choose when you buy your annuity as well as your annuity provider.

Pre-August 2017 benefits

Once you’re receiving your pension built up before August 2017, it receives increases each year to help the value of it keep pace with inflation. The Fund increases your pension built up before 6 April 2006 in line with the rise in the retail prices index (also known as RPI) up to a maximum of 5% a year, and your pension built up from 6 April 2006 in line with the rise in consumer prices index (also known as CPI) up to a maximum of 2.5% a year.

Options at retirement

Level pension option

If you have built up defined benefit pension in the Fund and you take your pension before you reach state pension age, you may be able to take a higher pension in the years between retirement and state pension age and a lower pension after you start to receive your state pension, so that your total income broadly remains the same. This is known as the level pension option.

Single person's option

If, while you were building up defined benefit pension in the Fund, you were single and never had any spouse, civil partner, dependant or children, you may be eligible for an increase to your defined benefit pension when it starts being paid, provided that you give up any future entitlement to benefits for any spouse, civil partner, dependant or children.

You can find out more by contacting Nestlé Pensions.

Increased pension for a dependant

If you have built up defined benefit pension in the Fund, you may be able to take a lower pension for yourself in exchange for providing a higher pension for your dependants when you die.

You can find out more by contacting Nestlé Pensions.

Retiring overseas

If you’re planning on spending your retirement overseas, we will still be able to pay your pension, provided you’re living in a country with an established banking system. It is possible to make international payments by bank transfer. However, you should bear in mind that the payment would be made in sterling and the receiving bank might make a charge for converting it into the local currency, which will be deducted from your pension and we will need to see your passport to carry out anti-money laundering checks. Please note we can still make payments to a UK bank account even though you’re living overseas.

At retirement guidance

So that you can make decisions that are right for you when you take your pension benefits, we want to make sure that you have all the information you need to make fully informed decisions.

To help you with your decision-making at retirement, Nestlé currently offers you the opportunity to access ‘At retirement guidance’ from an independent financial adviser (IFA), which Nestlé will pay for.

This service is currently provided by Origen Financial Services Ltd and is designed to help you understand your retirement options. To access the service, you will need to contact the team at Origen and make an appointment:

Telephone: 0344 209 3918

Email: nestle@origenfs.co.uk

You will need to provide Origen with a copy of your retirement quotation in advance of your meeting.

Please note that you will only be able to access the guidance paid for by Nestlé once. You will need to meet the cost of any further financial advice that you receive from Origen yourself.

If you already have your own Independent Financial Adviser in place and want to use them to provide you with at retirement guidance or advice, Nestlé will meet the first £500 of this cost. Contact Nestlé Pensions for more information. Please do not make any arrangements to receive guidance or advice from your adviser until you have received confirmation from Nestlé Pensions that Nestlé will pay costs, up to a maximum of £500. You will need to meet any costs over this amount.

Read more about support available at retirement in our Retirement Support Leaflet.