Defined contribution schemes like the Savings Trust offer a lot of flexibility at retirement. This means you need to take time to weigh up your options and take professional advice when making this important decision.
The Retirement Forecaster in MyAviva lets you see what your Savings Trust membership might provide you with in retirement. In MyAviva, just go to the ‘Overview’ section and click on ‘Get forecasting’ to see how you’re doing.
There are two options open to you. The Retirement Forecaster shows how much your pension might be worth under different scenarios, while the ‘Compare income options’ tool lets you look at how your forecasted pot of money can be used in retirement.
We recommend starting with the Retirement Forecaster and adding any other pension benefits you have in other schemes, as well as the State Pension. That way, you’ll get the complete picture in one place.
Because of the wide range of options you have when taking your Savings Trust benefits, it’s a good idea to take advice. Often, your adviser will be able to point out options that you might not have considered and can help you to navigate the ever-changing tax landscape.
We’ve selected WPS Advisory (WPSA) to help you with this. They’re authorised by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) to provide independent advice to defined contribution pension scheme members and have been helping our members at retirement for many years.
If you’re a current Rolls-Royce employee aged 55 or over who’s leaving employment, we’ll pay for the cost of an initial advice session with WPS. And we’ve negotiated special rates for all other members, who can access the advice service from the age of 55.
Find out more about what’s included and how much it costs using the links below.
Our retirement advice journey plan (opens in a new tab) explains the process for current employees, but the same principles apply if you’re a former employee of Rolls-Royce. This lets you know in advance exactly how the advice process works and who’s responsible at every step of the way.
You can register for the advice service through WPSA’s registration portal (opens in a new tab) up to four months in advance of your chosen retirement date.
Current employees should head to Employee Hub and search ‘retirement advice’ to find out how this works alongside leaving employment, as you can’t take your Savings Trust benefits while you work for Rolls-Royce.
Important note
If you’re still employed at Rolls-Royce and were a member of the Rolls-Royce UK Pension Fund on 31 December 2020, please speak to the administration team at Pension Insurance Corporation (PIC) who now manage your pension. In many cases, it may be more beneficial to take your ‘paid for’ advice as part of your retirement from the UK Pension Fund.
The PIC team are available on 0800 022 4878 (or +44 (0)20 3621 4753 from abroad) or by email at [email protected]. Make sure you include your policy reference number when emailing them.
The Government’s MoneyHelper service has completely revamped its step-by-step retirement planning guide.
Starting by helping you to plan up to 10 years ahead of your retirement date, the guide is packed with useful and trusted information for all members of defined contribution pension schemes like the Savings Trust.
From 6 April 2028, the Government is amending the age at which you can start to receive retirement benefits from 55 to 57 years of age.
Although minimum age protections have previously applied to our defined benefit arrangements, a recent legal review has confirmed no such protections apply to the Savings Trust.
As a result, the minimum retirement age will rise to 57 years of age from 6 April 2028.
If you’re looking ahead to retirement, the MoneyHelper website has a useful online guide (opens in a new tab) explaining what you can do with your pension pot. MoneyHelper is provided by HM Government and the Money and Pensions Service, and it’s a good place to start.
Their simple retirement option tools can help you get an idea of what your savings might provide, before you start to formally consider your retirement options. There’s no need to register and they’re completely free to use. So why not give them a try?
Even though it’s been around for 10 years, we’re still calling it the ‘new’ State Pension. And while it’s not a huge amount, it can make a big difference when combined with your retirement savings.
The maximum amount you can get from the new State Pension is now £241.30 a week, which is just over £12,500 a year. Generally speaking, most people will be eligible for the maximum amount once they’ve chalked up 35 qualifying years on their national insurance record, although some people who were contracted out of the State Second Pension may need a few more years to get it.
If you have fewer than 35 qualifying years on your national insurance record but more than 10, you’ll still get a proportion of the maximum. The best way to find out for sure is to get a personal forecast and find out more about the new State Pension at www.gov.uk/new-state-pension (opens in a new tab).
You may have heard about an error with the State Pension forecasting tool, which meant some people were told they did not need to make further national insurance contributions to receive the maximum State Pension, only to find at State Pension Age that they were short. HMRC applied a fix in February 2026, so you may wish to double-check your forecast, especially if you had any periods of contracted-out service before 2016.
