Pensioners & Dependants

In November 2023 the Trustee of the Rexam Pension Plan (“the Plan”) purchased an insurance policy with Rothesay Life (“Rothesay”) which secures the Defined Benefit (“DB”) pension benefits for all Plan members. There is currently no change to the running of the Plan or your benefits. You will continue to receive your pension in the same way and if you have any queries you should contact the Pensions Department as usual. The Plan will continue to pay members’ benefits, but now Rothesay reimburses the cost of those benefits to the Plan under the terms of the insurance policy. Further information in relation to the Rothesay insurance policy is available in the Updates & Reports section.

The payment routines are completely separate from the payslip production routines, so, provided we hold your current bank account details, your pension will have been paid into your account. We send a payslip to everyone in March (P60) and April and then from May to February we send out a payslip only if your net pension changes by more than £1.

You receive a payslip in April every year. This has details of your gross pension, any tax deduction, and your net pension. This should be sufficient for any benefit claim. If your net pension alters by more than £1, for example if your tax code changes, you will receive a payslip giving the new details. It is important to keep your April payslip.

We can only operate the tax coding given to us by HMRC. You need to contact our tax office at Bradford Beckside to discuss your tax coding. They can be contacted on 0300 200 3300 (overseas Tel 0044 135 535 9022) (customers who are deaf or hearing or speech impaired Textphone 0300 200 3319), by writing to HM Revenue & Customs, Pay As You Earn, PO Box 1970, Liverpool L75 1WX, or the address shown on any correspondence you have received from HMRC. You need to quote reference 073/B9P and your National Insurance number.

HMRC notify us after they notify you. It may be that we did not receive the new coding in time for the payroll run – the cut-off date for changes is about a week before the payroll credit date (refer to Payroll Dates on this website). You will receive a payslip after your tax code has changed, if your net pension has altered by more than £1.

The cut-off date for payroll changes is about a week before the credit date. It may be that we did not receive your change in details in time for the payroll run (refer to Payroll Dates on this website). We always acknowledge a change of bank details and the letter will tell you the payment date from which the new details will apply.

A P60 (Certificate of Pay and Tax Deducted) is sent to everyone in March. This document gives all the necessary details. It is important to keep this document in a safe place as HMRC do not allow us to issue a duplicate. If necessary, for HMRC purposes, we can issue a letter giving the details.

All P60s (Certificate of Pay and Tax Deducted) are issued at the beginning of March. It is combined with your March payslip. Please keep this in a safe place for future reference.

Increases are awarded on 6 April each year.

You will have been notified of the increase basis, if any, for your pension when it first became payable. You will also have been told the different components making up your total pension payment and the increase, if any, applied to these separate parts.

Depending on the particular scheme to which you belonged, and Government legislation covering pension increases, these separate components may receive a guaranteed percentage increase or an increase based on the rise in the Retail Prices Index (RPI) or no increase at all.

All pensioners will be issued with a combined P60/payslip in March showing the gross pension and tax at the year end. A payslip will then be issued in April showing the increased (if applicable) pension for the new tax year.

This may be due to increases to your State pension and the effect of the freeze on the tax-free Personal Allowance in recent years. Your State pension is taxable pay and the way HMRC tax it is to reduce your tax allowance in respect of your other income. Each time your State pension increases your tax-free allowance may reduce, which could result in you paying more tax on your Rexam pension.

The percentage of Lifetime allowance used under the Rexam Pension Plan will be unchanged from that provided on your retirement statement.

There are limits on the amount you can save tax efficiently; more details can be found in the following tax guides on HMRC website.

HMRC – Annual Allowance summary guide
HMRC – Lump Sum Allowance summary guide

If you need advice about tax, you should speak to a financial adviser.

From 6 April 2024, the Lifetime Allowance (LTA) regime was removed, with 2 new tax-free lump sum allowances introduced in its place. Please refer to ‘Lump Sum updates’ announcement in Updates & Reports for further information.

If you die in retirement a spouse’s/dependant’s pension may be payable. A spouse’s pension is payable for life, by right to your legal spouse. Where you are not married but there is an adult who is financially dependent upon you, a dependant’s pension may become payable. The Trustee will consider the circumstances of the relationship and will make a decision based on the evidence gathered at time of death. If you die during the first 5 years of retirement (the guarantee period), a lump sum will also be payable equal to the remainder of your first 5 years of pension. We normally pay a lump sum to the person(s) you have nominated. This is on top of a pension to your dependant(s). It is therefore important you continue to keep your nomination form up to date within the 5 years following retirement.

In addition, the Plan provides for child allowances, payable until your child or children reach age 18. It may be extended at the Trustee’s discretion up to the age of 23, if the child remains in full-time education or vocational training, or is unable to work through mental or physical incapacity.

Any spouse’s, dependant’s or children’s pension will increase in the same way as your own pension.

Any lump sum paid on your death will use up your Lump Sum Allowance (LSA) Provided that you have sufficient LSA left, the lump sum will be paid tax-free. However, once you have used up your LSA, any further lump sums will be taxed.

At such a sad time, there are many pulls on time and priorities. A short notification of the death to Pensions Department is all that is needed initially. When the family is able to look to sort out the administration that follows the death of a loved one, Pensions Department will need a copy of the following:

a) A copy of the death certificate
b) A copy of the birth and marriage certificates of any spouse or financial dependent
c) Copies of any children’s birth certificates if under 23 years old and still in full time education
d) Addresses of the person sending the information and addresses of spouse, financial dependants and children if different from the deceased’s address on the death certificate
e) A copy of the member’s Will (if applicable)

On receipt of such information, Pensions Department will advise whether further benefits such as continuing pensions or any cash payments are due to the family, next of kin or the deceased’s estate.

Our target is for a response to be sent within 10 working days following receipt of all the above information.

Not all pensions have an attaching spouse/dependant’s pension or lump sum payable on the death of a pensioner.