Frequently Asked Questions

A buy-in is when a pension scheme purchases an insurance policy to improve the security of members’ benefits. The Trustee remains responsible for looking after the running of the scheme and paying members’ benefits. A buy-in can happen because a scheme is in a good financial position.

The RSP Section has completed a buy-in and is moving towards buy-out and wind-up.

Once a scheme has secured a buy-in, they can then consider their next steps. The Trustee has decided to wind-up the RSP Section and will transfer members’ benefits to Aviva through a buy-out. When the buy-out takes place, members will be issued with an individual policy with Aviva and Aviva will be responsible for paying pension benefits when they are due.

The RSP Section was in a strong financial position which meant it was able to buy an insurance policy to secure members’ benefits for the future.

In the long term, insurance companies like Aviva are generally considered to be a secure option for members’ benefits, as they can spread the risk more widely than individual schemes can.

Yes, this is good news for you and your RSP Section benefits. We have increased the security of your benefits in the RSP Section, and there is no change to what you will receive when taking your pension pot.

No, you do not need to do anything as a result of the buy-in. The Trustee will keep you informed of the important milestones along the way. However, if you receive an offer to take your pension benefits as a Winding up lump sum, you will have a decision to make as to whether you want to accept the offer or not.

The Trustee is working with Aviva with the aim of completing the buy-out by early 2027. We will write to members to let them know when the RSP Section moves to buy-out, and explain what it means for members.

Aon is working on behalf of the Trustee to issue Winding-up lump sum offers to eligible members, support members throughout this exercise and to process the offer for those who take it up. Aon is a leading pensions industry expert and an accredited member of the Pensions Administration Standards Association. You can read about Aon at www.aon.com.  Aon are well known to both the Trustee and Morrisons and have been involved with the running of Morrisons wider pension arrangements for over 20 years.

Aviva has been selected by the Trustee to secure members’ benefits for the future. Aviva are an experienced and specialist insurance provider who offer protection against risks such as investment performance, changes of interest rates and inflation.

Read Aviva’s Fair Processing Notice.

The Trustee is planning to wind-up the RSP Section, and as part of this, we have the opportunity to offer eligible members the option to take their benefits as an immediate cash lump sum, known as a Winding-up lump sum (WULS).

To be eligible for a WULS offer the value of your RSP Section benefits at the point of offer will be £18,000 or less. The current value of your RSP Section benefits means that we believe you are likely to be eligible for an offer.

If you are eligible, Aon will write to you between the end of May and the end of September 2025 with your individual offer. Because of the high number of members who we believe will be eligible for an offer, Aon will issue the offer letters in stages, so eligible members will receive their offer at different times throughout this exercise.

You can keep your pension pot in the RSP Section until you are ready to retire, adding it to your overall retirement savings and income. If you want to wait to take your pension pot, you don’t have to accept the offer.

If you are aged 54 or below…

Normally, you can’t access your pension benefits before the Normal Minimum Pension Age (age 55, rising to age 57 in 2028). If you were to accept the WULS offer, you would be able take your RSP Section benefits now as an immediate one-off cash lump sum. You can choose what to do you with your cash now, which might benefit your current financial situation.

Your WULS offer amount is likely to be less than the amount you’ll get when you retire. However, you will have to wait until at least the Normal Minimum Pension Age to take your pension pot if you choose not to accept your WULS offer. You also have the option at any time to transfer your pension pot into another pension arrangement if you wish to do so.

If you are aged 55 or over…

You can already access your pension benefits from the RSP Section, and the amount offered as a WULS will be the same as if you took your pension pot from the RSP Section. You can choose what to do with your cash now, which might benefit your current financial situation.

If you don’t accept the offer, your benefits will remain in the RSP Section, and the WULS offer amount is likely to be less than the amount you get when you retire in the future.

The WULS offer is a one-off cash sum payment, whereas a transfer value is the amount that can be transferred from one pension pot to another.

At the date your one-off WULS offer is calculated, the WULS amount and transfer value amount would be the same. The amount of your transfer value may vary in future.

No, if you have more than one period of service in the RSP Section your records will be added together, and you will receive one offer covering your combined benefits.

Yes, your WULS offer will take into account, and include, any AVCs that are invested with Prudential.

The simplest and quickest way is to log on to Aon’s online portal – the full details of how to do this will be in your offer letter. You’ll need your NI number and your registration number which is provided in your letter. If you would prefer not to go online, you can complete the claim form and post it back to Aon.

Once you have provided all of the necessary information to Aon, they will arrange to make payment and they aim to make the payment in the month after they receive your completed form.

No, the WULS offer is only in relation to the benefits you hold in the RSP Section.

Under current tax rules, you will be able to take 25% of your WULS payment tax-free. The other 75% will be taxable at your marginal rate. At the point of payment, Aon will make a deduction for tax of 20% which is the basic rate of income tax.

However, everyone’s tax situation is different – the amount of tax you need to pay if you accept the offer will depend on your other income for the 2025/2026 tax year.

You can work out how much tax you should pay by visiting HMRC’s website.

Yes, if you opted out but have now changed your mind, you can contact Aon and opt back in to the process.

No, there is no obligation to accept the offer.

If you choose not to accept the offer, your benefits will remain in the RSP Section, and you will have the same options for taking your pension benefits as you do now. Your benefits will then be included as part of the buy-out transaction in the transfer to Aviva.

You can still transfer out to another approved pension scheme at any time. You will need to contact the day to day administrator of the RSP Section, Aptia, to request a transfer value.

Yes, if you don’t want to receive the offer you can write to Aon and let them know that you’d like to opt out.