What other benefits might be available from an occupational pension?

Some of the other benefits that might be available from a salary related occupational pension scheme include:

• the ability to take a lump sum (in return for a reduced pension)
• early retirement scheme
• choice about retirement date
• an ill health retirement scheme. This would allow you to retire on a full pension (ie as if you had worked to normal retirement) if you can no longer work through incapacity.
• death in service benefits
• pensions for a surviving spouse or partner
• children's pensions for any dependent children when you die
• a survivor's pension for a parent or other close relative dependent on you when you die

Money purchase schemes cannot be as flexible as salary related schemes as each member is building up their own pension fund under the umbrella of the scheme. This means that if you retire early you will only be able to do with so with the pension you can buy from your share of the fund.

But your pension fund may have insurance policies alongside the pension fund to cover ill-health or death in service, normally paid for by the employer. The quality of these policies can vary a great deal.