As you have been in the Scheme for 3 months or less you will have a refund of your contributions.

The refund of contributions will be paid less the amount you have saved on your National Insurance contributions by being contracted out. This deduction is made to buy you back into the State Second Pension (S2P).

Tax is then deducted from the balance, currently at the rate of 20% for contributions up to £10,800, and at the rate of 40% for contributions over £10,800.

The net refund is equivalent to the amount you would have received in your pay had you not been a member of the Scheme.

It is not necessary to contact the Pensions Department before you leave, unless you need to notify us of a change in your address.

The HR Department will inform us of your leaving date. We will aim to write to you within 4 to 6 weeks of your leaving date.

Your contributions are deducted from your gross pay before your tax code is applied. This means that you get automatic tax relief. Therefore, when a refund of contributions is paid the Trustees are required by law to deduct the tax that would have been paid had you not been a member of the Scheme. This sum is then returned to HM Revenue & Customs.

Your refund of contributions will be paid by cheque.

We will aim to send your refund of contributions within 4 to 6 weeks of your leaving date.

If you are leaving the Press due to redundancy you will still be given the opportunity to take either a refund of contributions or a cash transfer sum (as mentioned above), but in addition you will also be given the opportunity to leave the pension you have built up in the Group Pension Scheme.  This is called a deferred pension.  For more information about deferred pensions click here