How your pension is calculated
If you retire at normal retirement age (65), your pension is worked out like this:
Example
1/60 of your final pensionable salary for each year of pensionable service
less
1/80 of the Government’s lower earnings limit (averaged over the last 12 months) for each year of pensionable service.
So, if you retire in April 2010 at age 65 after 40 years’ pensionable service, with a final pensionable salary of £24,000, your pension would be:
1/60 x £24,000 x 40 years = £16,000
less
1/80 x £5,044 (using the lower earnings limit for the 2010/2011 tax year) x 40 years = £2,522 making a total pension of £13,478 a year.
Adjusting for part time
If you work (or have worked) part-time, your pension is based on the pensionable salary you would have earned as a full-time member – but your pensionable service is adjusted downwards to take account of the hours you actually worked.
So, to take a simple example – if you worked 3 days a week for 10 years, this would in practice count as 6 years’ pensionable service (3/5 of 10 years).
If you have worked full time and part time, the different periods of service will be treated separately.
Members who joined on or before 1 October 1987
If you joined the Unilever UK Pension Fund or the Unilever Superannuation Fund on or before 1 October 1987, you can choose to stop contributions at age 60 even though you are continuing to work at Unilever. If you do this, your pension will be worked out at age 60 then increased each year until you actually retire.
Or, you can continue your chosen level of contributions. Then, when you retire, you will receive the higher of:
- Your pension worked out on the date you actually retire; and
- Your pension worked out as if you had stopped contributions at age 60.