Early & Flexible Retirement

eduction in pension for early payment. In other words the only thing that wouldaffect the amount of pension for someone who met the Rule of 85 would be thenumber of years’ membership on retirement and his or her pay. The Rule of 85 nolonger applies to new members.If an employee who meets the “Rule of 85” wishes to retire before age 60 theconsent of the employing service is still required. The additional costs of "Rule of 85"benefits will be charged to the employing service.There are transitional arrangements for people who were members of the schemeon 1st December 2006.Application ProcessEarly Retirement (Not Redundancy or Business Efficiency)To request, or enquire about, early retirement, an employee should complete andsubmit an ER50 Early Retirement Request Form.There will be a cost to the service in agreeing to grant early retirement. Inconjunction with their service accounting team, the Service will need to considerhow this cost can be met and any associated benefits before making a final decision.If the request is approved in principle, Pensions section will prepare an estimate ofthe benefits payable and forward this to the employee.If the request is being turned down the budget holder should write to the employeeexplaining why the request cannot be taken forward.Early Retirement on Exceptional Compassionate GroundsTo request, or enquire about, early retirement on exceptional compassionategrounds, an employee should complete and submit an ER59 Application to Retire onCompassionate Grounds Form .Volunteers for Redundancy and Retirements in the Interests of Business EfficiencyExpressions of interest in voluntary redundancy as a result of managing change andworkforce reduction programmes are managed through the HR Workforce ChangeTeam. Contact the HR Workforce Change Team / HR Business Partner for furtherinformation.Consent from the CouncilEmployees have the right to request an estimate of their benefits at any time.However, since an employee cannot retire before age 60 without the Council'sconsent, it is recommended that the application process for early retirement isfollowed. For reasons of administrative efficiency such requests should be limited tono more than one per year. Employees wishing a pension quotation at or after 60can apply direct to the pension team or refer to their most recent annual benefitsstatement.Employees need the employer’s consent to retire flexibly regardless of age.Managing PeopleEarly RetirementFife Council September 2011 Page 3 of 19 ER11