What is the status of pension value transferred in from a previous employer – does it rank equally with BP pensionable service in all respects?
The changes do not in themselves affect BP’s policies on transferred-in benefits. The current policy for transferred-in service benefits for the BP Pension Scheme is that if you retire early (for whatever reason), the benefits are usually reduced by an appropriate rate for early payment. This is because at the time of transfer, the transferred-in value is calculated on the basis of taking your pension at age 60. Transferred-in service does not count towards eligibility for VERA – only actual pensionable service with BP or a heritage BP Group company is included. If you have a ‘fixed pension’ benefit rather than the standard transferred-in service, this is treated as a deferred pension held within the Pension Fund. If you retire early, the deferred pension reduction factor will apply. This is currently 5-6% a year for each year that your retirement date is below age 60.
