Frequently asked questions
Also in this section
DB members
E.ON UK offers a range of retirement options, depending on your plans for life after giving up work.
These include:
- Normal retirement – You will get your pension plus a cash lump sum, which is currently tax free.
- Early retirement - if you are eligible to retire early, your benefits will be lower because they are being paid out for longer
- Late retirement - If you are any active member, you can continue to work past your normal pension age and continue to build up your pension benefits. If you are a deferred member, it is not possible to defer payment of your benefits after your normal pension age.
- Ill-health retirement - If ill health means you have to give up work, you may be able to claim your scheme pension and cash lump sum early. For full details, speak to your employer.
No. The Trustee, Railpen, and your employer are not authorised to offer advice. Any information provided by them should not be relied on as advice about your individual circumstances.
If you need advice before making a decision about your financial future, visit unbiased.co.uk for a list of independent financial advisers in your area.
Your deferred benefits are paid from your Normal Pension Age, but they may be paid early, without any reduction, if:
- you are eligible under Incapacity Rules, or
- (depending on your membership category), you are under 50 when you cease to be in service and you leave work because of redundancy or reorganisation.
Normally, if you retire before your NPA, your pension will be reduced because it is being paid early.
Register/log in to myESPS
Register/log in to myESPS for former NPower Group members only
Please let Railpen know. Pension payrolls are processed approximately three weeks before the payment date. If you change your bank or building society account, you must let Railpen have your new account details at least three weeks before your pension is due.
If you can’t give three weeks' notice, keep your old bank account open to avoid any delay in your pension reaching you. Contact Railpen about any changes.
You can make legal arrangements to pass the responsibility to a family member or someone else close to you, typically through Power of Attorney.
You, or your chosen representative, will need to tell the Scheme’s administrator, Railpen, and provide written evidence, normally in the form of a Power of Attorney. Get in touch using details on the Contact us page.
If you leave the Company or decide to opt out of the scheme for any reason, your benefits will stay in the scheme until you’re eligible to claim them. You become a ‘deferred’ member.
You may also be able to transfer your scheme benefits to another pension arrangement, if that arrangement accepts transfers in. However, be aware of transfer scams.
Yes, but please think very carefully before you transfer your pension to another provider. Consider your long-term finances and your benefits in the scheme, compared to those offered by other pension arrangements.
Get advice from an Independent Financial Adviser (IFA). You can find IFAs in your local area at unbiased.co.uk.
Paid maternity leave means you will keep building up benefits. This is based on a notional salary figure equivalent to the salary you would have received if you weren’t on maternity leave. Your contributions will be based on your actual salary (including statutory maternity pay).
If you take unpaid maternity leave, you can continue paying contributions (based on your salary immediately before you start maternity leave). These contributions can be paid either during maternity leave or when you return to work. Your unpaid maternity leave will then count as service.
If you don’t pay contributions during your leave, this will not count as service.
Additional Voluntary Contribution (AVC) arrangements are tax-efficient ways for scheme members to save a bit more towards their retirement.
AVCs are taken from your pay before tax, so they are a tax-efficient way to save (limits apply).
AVCs can be a way of making up the shortfall (if there is one) between the pension you will get and the income you want to maintain your retirement lifestyle.
If you divorce, your former spouse may be entitled to part of your pension (or its equivalent value) as part of your divorce settlement. Your solicitor will advise you.
An unmarried partner or a dependant has no automatic right to an ESPS pension. However, the Trustee may agree to pay a pension to an unmarried partner or dependant. With the Trustee’s agreement, you may also be able to give up part of your pension to provide a pension for an unmarried partner or dependant when you retire. Contact Railpen for details.
Once you retire, your pension will be paid to you every month. You can view your pension payslips by logging in to myESPS.
Register/log in to myESPS
Register/log in to myESPS for former NPower Group members only
If ill health stops you from working, you can apply for ill-health benefits (as long as you have not already taken your benefits while working).
You will need to meet certain criteria before you can take ill-health benefits.
These are the benefits (such as a pension and lump sum) you could leave behind for loved ones if you die while in employment.
It’s important the Trustee knows where you’d like these benefits to go, so you are strongly advised to keep your Expression of Wish form up to date.
Find more information and a copy of the form in the Expression of Wish section. You can also complete it online in your myESPS account.
Register/log in to myESPS
Register/log in to myESPS for former NPower Group members only
Complete an Expression of Wish form so that the Trustee knows who you would like to get your cash lump sum if you die before claiming your pension.
Your Expression of Wish can be quickly and easily updated online in your myESPS account.
Register/log in to myESPS
Register/log in to myESPS for former NPower Group members only
All about pensions
A workplace pension is a way of saving for your retirement, which is organised by your employer. It is also called a ‘company pension’, an ‘occupational pension’ or a ‘works pension’.
A pension is a savings scheme that you pay into while working to give you a regular income when you retire.
It’s a tax efficient way to save, because the money you pay in – or contribute – is taken from your salary before tax is deducted. This means you pay a lower rate of tax on your salary.
Your employer contributes too, so you’re both saving for your future.
Many of us don’t want to compromise our lifestyles in retirement, so taking an interest in your pension planning is a great way to do something positive for the future.
The Lifestyle Calculator gives you a rough idea of your current outgoings and what you might need to live on when you retire.
You can always pay additional voluntary contributions if you want to top up your pension.
A pension works by investing the money that is paid in – by you, your employer and the government.
Different schemes work in different ways, but the idea is that the investments will grow over time to give you an income when you retire.
With some schemes, you choose how to invest your money; these are usually called 'Money Purchase' or ‘Defined Contribution’ pension schemes. This means you have your own ‘pension pot’, which is used to provide an income when you retire. The size of the pot you get mostly depends on how much has been paid in and how well the investments have performed.
Other schemes work in different ways; for example, the amount you get when you retire depends on factors such as:
- how long you've been a member
- your final salary when you retire, or
- your average earnings during your career.
These are commonly referred to as ‘Defined Benefit’ or ‘Career Average’ arrangements.
You are responsible for reporting any excess in your benefits over the Annual Allowance (after using up any carry forward) via self-assessment. The amount of Annual Allowance charge will be included in your tax calculation and you would normally have to pay any charges by the usual self-assessment payment deadlines.
The scheme also has a responsibility to notify HMRC via Event Reporting if someone exceeds the Annual Allowance.
A member can request use of the ‘Scheme Pays’ facility in order to meet the tax charge.
Like many things in life, saving is a whole lot easier if you don’t have to do it alone. With a pension it isn’t just you saving for your retirement; it’s you, your employer and the government.
The money paid into your pension pot are called ‘contributions’. Contributions can be paid by:
- you (or someone paying in on your behalf, such as your spouse)
- your employer – this is one of the benefits of having a workplace pension. It’s a perk you don’t get with other savings schemes; and
- the government – in the form of tax relief, again a perk of having a pension.
The amount you’ll get depends mostly on how much has been paid into it and:
- the rules of your scheme, if you’re in a Defined Benefit scheme; or
- how much you’ve paid in and how well your investments have performed if you’re in a Defined Contribution scheme.
What tax allowances can affect my pension?
There are various tax allowances that could affect your pension savings. We've included a short summary below. You can find more details on the tax allowances web page.
The Annual Allowance (AA) is a limit on the amount of pension savings you can make in to your scheme(s) (you may have more than one) in any given tax year. If you exceed your AA, you may be charged tax on the excess.
The Lifetime Allowance (LTA) was the maximum amount you could build up in all of your registered pension savings throughout your working life before you had to pay additional tax. It was abolished from 6 April 2024.
With the abolition of the LTA, there is no limit on the amount of pension savings you can build up. However, lump sum limits or allowances have been introduced instead. These include:
- the Lump Sum Allowance (LSA) - which for most people limits the tax-free cash or lump sum you can receive from all your pensions
- the Lump Sum and Death Benefits Allowance (LSDBA) - a cap on the tax-free lump sum that can be paid to, or in respect of, a member of a registered pension scheme
- Overseas Transfer Allowance (OTA) - this only applies to transfers out to a Qualifying Recognised Overseas Transfer Scheme
For further details, including the latest figures for these allowances, please go to the tax allowances page.
You can also visit gov.uk.
You are responsible for monitoring your AA and other tax allowances and reporting any excess to Her Majesty’s Revenue & Customs (HMRC).
