RPSM03307031 - Scheme Administrator Pages: Protecting pension rights from tax charges: Benefit payments - other forms of protection: Protected pension age

How will I know if the member has a protected pension age?

Personal pension schemes and retirement annuity contracts

Only members of a personal pension scheme (PP) or a retirement annuity contract (RAC) who before 6 April 2006 had the right to take benefits from that scheme before their 50^th birthday will be able to take benefits before normal minimum pension age. Only individuals who carried out specific occupations will have had the right to take benefits before age 50 before 6 April 2006. RPSM03106035 contains a list of occupations that permitted benefits to be paid before age 50 from a PP or RAC.

Retirement benefits schemes and deferred annuity contracts

Members of a retirement benefits scheme or a deferred annuity contract (section 32 policy) may have the right to take benefits before normal minimum pension age if

• the individual was a scheme member before 6 April 2006, and
• the scheme rules on 10 December 2003 gave the individual the right to take benefits before age 55 (or if they were not a member on that day would have given the individual that right to benefits before age 55 if they had been a scheme member on 10 December 2003).

A member has the right to take benefits if under the terms of the scheme they do no need the permission or consent of another person (e.g. employer or trustees) to take benefits. RPSM03106025 contains more guidance on what is an unqualified right to take benefits. So you will need to look at what the scheme rules said on 10 December 2003 to find out if the member has the right to take benefits before normal minimum pension age.

For all types of scheme the member may lose their right to take benefits before normal minimum pension age if they transfer their benefits (either uncrystallised or crystallised) to another scheme and the transfer is not a block transfer. RPSM03307035 gives more information.