About the plan

When you retire Transferring your pension Death in deferment Get in touch

Overview

The Compass Group Pension Plan (the Plan) is Compass’s pension arrangement in the UK and provides both defined benefit (also known as ‘salary related’) and defined contribution (also known as ‘money purchase’) pension benefits. (Defined contribution benefits since 1 January 2024 when the Compass Retirement Income Savings Plan (CRISP) was transferred into the Plan and became the CRISP Section of the Plan).

The Plan is set up under a trust and prior to the transfer in of CRISP was already made up of a number of defined benefit schemes which have been merged together.

The Plan is closed to new members, other than those joining the CRISP Section, and to future build-up of benefits on a defined benefit basis (with the exception of a small group of members previously in public sector schemes).

The CRISP Section of the Plan is open to employees who have been told that they are eligible to join, or who have completed two years’ service.

If you have left Compass and have a pension that has not yet come into payment (this is called a ‘deferred pension’) you can access details of your pension online by logging into the XPS member portal.

When you retire

With consent from the Trustees, you will be able to retire at any time from age 55 (age 57 from 6 April 2028 when the minimum pension age increases). However, if you retire early (before your normal retirement age), your pension will be reduced to account for it being paid for a longer time.

The basics:

The Plan will pay your pension monthly for the rest of your lifetime.
Your pension payments are taxed as income and will usually increase in April each year.
You will normally have the option to exchange part of your pension for a cash lump sum. Under current legislation, this is tax-free.

To find out more about the options you have when you retire, please visit the XPS member portal.

Transferring your pension

You have the option to transfer your deferred pension to another approved pension arrangement. If you're thinking about transferring out, please read our 'stay scam smart' article on the Noticeboard.

You can request a transfer value online through the XPS member portal. If you request more than one transfer value in any 12 month period, XPS will charge an administration fee.

When considering transferring out of the Plan, you may want to think about getting financial advice as this is a permanent decision and if your transfer value is more than £30,000, you are legally required to take independent financial advice. For information on how to find a financial adviser you can visit the MoneyHelper website.

Death in deferment

If you have a deferred pension and you die before you start receiving it, a spouse’s pension will usually become payable. This is usually equal to 50% of your own pension.

For some members, there may also be a lump sum payable representing a refund of your own pension contributions. This will depend on the section of the Plan you were a member of and will be at the discretion of the Trustees. For more information you can visit the XPS member portal.