The Church Administrators Pension Fund (CAPF DB) started as a traditional defined benefit pension scheme. On 30 June 2010, it changed to a Career Average Revalued Earnings (CARE) scheme. You build up a pension based on your earnings over your career.
When you retire, we’ll pay you: a pension for life, a tax-free lump sum and after you pass away, and we’ll continue to pay a pension to your husband, wife, or civil partner.
Download the pension guide to find out everything you need to know about the CAPF Defined Benefit Scheme.
My Membership
CAPF DB is for NCI staff who joined before July 2006.
You contribute 1.5% and in return we'll pay a pension to your husband, wife or civil partner after you die. If you aren't married or you're not in a civil partnership when you retire, we can refund some or all of this back to you.
You can't transfer other pensions into CAPF DB.
Can I save more?
You can boost your retirement income by paying Additional Voluntary Contributions (AVCs). This buys you extra pension, but in a different pension scheme called Pension Builder Classic.
If you are thinking of saving AVCs, first decide how much you would like to save. There are two ways you can save.
- Monthly through your salary: This way, your AVCs are taken from your salary before tax. You can start, stop, increase or decrease your AVCs whenever you like. To start paying, or change your AVCs fill out an AVC form
- One-off lump sum payment: You can save one-off lump sums. To do this, fill out an AVC form and send this to us. Anything you pay into your pension is tax-free up to a limit. As you will have paid tax on your lump sums you can claim any tax relief on your self-assessment tax return.
My retirement
When you're ready to start taking your pension, just let us know.
Once you start your pension, we’ll pay it for life. You can give up part of your pension for a one-off, tax-free lump sum, which we’ll pay as soon as possible after you retire.
You don’t have to keep your pension with us, you can transfer it to a ‘defined contribution’ pension and use your flexible options.
We’ll explain all your options in detail and guide you through the process when the time comes.
Once you retire, you can join the NCI Pensioners Association. If you'd like to join, email Colin Bullen at colin@bullen.website
My pension if I leave
If you leave the NCIs before you retire, we'll keep your pension here with us until you decide to take it, transfer it to another provider or you die.
We'll keep in touch with you and send annual updates to let you know how your pension is progressing.
If you move jobs and they have their own pension scheme, or you have a private pension you've set up you might be able to move your pension into this, but you will need to take financial advice first. Get in touch with us if you would like to do this.
My pension if I die
If you die before or after you take your pension, we'll pay half your pension to your spouse or civil partner.
We guarantee your pension for 5 years, so if you die within this period, we'll pay the remaining payments as a lump sum.
If you die while still working for the NCIs, we will also pay a tax-free lump sum of 2x your salary.
To let us know who you'd like to receive any lump sum, simply log in to PensionsOnline and add your nomination. You can choose a person, people, or even an organisation.
If your circumstances change, don’t forget to update your nomination. While we have the final say over who receives the payment (to help keep it tax-free), we’ll always take your wishes into account.
Plan, plan, plan
Planning for the future and for your retirement can feel difficult. But the earlier you do it, the easier it is.
Need financial advice?
Helping you find financial advice and our partnership with Ecclesiastical Financial Advisory Services.
Discover our Pensions technical zone
If you're looking for help with a technical question, and you can't find the answer on this page, check out our technical zone. You might find the answer there. If not, get in touch with us and we can help.
We make every effort to provide you with an efficient and effective service. However, if you are unhappy with the service you receive, please contact us first and we will do our best to resolve your issue. You can download our complaints procedure here.
If you have a complaint or dispute concerning your workplace or personal pension arrangements, you can also contact the Pensions Ombudsman. If you have general requests for information or guidance, head to MoneyHelper.
The Pensions Ombudsman
- Telephone: 0800 917 4487
- Email: enquiries@pensions-ombudsman.org.uk
- Website: pensions-ombudsman.org.uk
Contact us
We are here to help. You can contact us by:
- Telephone: 020 7898 1802 (9am - 5pm, Monday to Friday)
- Email: pensions@churchofengland.org
