Arconic Pension Plan
The Arconic Pension Plan ('the Plan') is a UK occupational pension scheme registered with HMRC. It is a Defined Benefit ('DB') pension scheme that provides retirement benefits to its members, who are employees or former employees of Arconic Manufacturing (GB) Limited and other employers associated with the arrangement ('Arconic', 'the Company').
On this page:
The Plan is set up under a Trust (established by a Trust Deed dated 27 November 2019) and is looked after by a professional corporate sole trustee called Ross Trustees Services Limited ('Ross Trustees'; 'the Trustee'). Ross Trustees has a legal responsibility to manage the Plan properly for you. You can find out more about Ross Trustees on the About the Trustee page.
The Plan is closed to new members and to future accrual. This means that existing members can no longer build up any more benefits in the Plan (except in limited circumstances). All members are therefore now either in receipt of a pension (a 'pensioner member') or have benefits in the Plan that they have not yet started taking (a 'deferred member').
Isio administers the Plan and your benefits. Contact details are available on the Useful contacts page.
The Plan's history
You may have been a former member of the Alcoa Britain Pension Scheme or the Arconic Britain Pension Scheme, collectively known as the 'Scheme', as a result of a transfer of your employment to the Alcoa group. The Scheme closed to new members from 31 December 2001, and to the building up of future benefits from 31 January 2019. All active members (members who were contributing to the Scheme) were then classified as 'in service deferred members' from this date.
In 2019, Arconic looked at ways to simplify the Scheme and enhance its operational efficiency. In 2020, it also separated into two groups of companies – Howmet Aerospace and Arconic Corporation. As a result, the Company decided to create two new pension schemes – the Arconic Pension Plan and the Firth Rixson Pension Plan – with all former Scheme members being transferred to either the Plan or the Firth Rixson Pension Plan, depending on their employment history.
This project was completed in June 2020.
Back to TopThe Plan's structure
The Arconic Pension Plan comprises the following Sections:
- Alcoa Britain Pension Scheme (Post-2002)
- British Aluminium
- Kawneer Section
- AFL
- Kama Works
- Kama Staff
As a member of the Plan, you may currently be receiving a pension, or you may have benefits within the Plan that you have not yet accessed. On this page, you can find a brief overview of how the Plan works, information on how you built up benefits and the options available to you when you access these benefits.
However, please note that the information on this website will not be applicable under all circumstances and you should not consider it as absolute confirmation of the benefits payable. The legal basis of the Plan is the Trust Deed and Rules, and this will override any information on this website in the event of any inconsistency.
Back to TopYour benefits under the Plan
Your pension benefits are known as 'defined benefits', which means that the pension you get at retirement is broadly based on your pensionable salary and your service in the Plan (transferred from the Scheme).
Taking your retirement benefits
Members with a deferred pension may retire in the following circumstances:
Normal retirement
You can select to take your pension at age 65, unless you are a member of the Kawneer Section where you can take your benefits at age 60. These are both known as your 'Normal Retirement Age'.
Members of the Alcoa Britain 2002 Section: If you leave Pensionable Service at Normal Retirement Age, you will receive a yearly pension from your Normal Retirement Age of:
- 1/60th of your Final Pensionable Salary for each complete year of Pensionable Service in the Alcoa Britain 2002 Section, plus an additional proportion for each additional complete month; and
- your Legacy Pension (if any).
Other provisions may apply for members in other sections of the Plan.
Early retirement
The earliest you can retire from the Plan is age 55 ('Minimum Pension Age'), or earlier if on the grounds of ill-health.
Note: Minimum Pension Age is set by legislation, and the Government could change it in future. The Government has already stated that the Minimum Pension Age will increase from age 55 to age 57 in 2028.
If you take early retirement, your pension will be reduced to reflect that you will receive it for longer than if you had retired at Normal Retirement Age.
Late retirement
You can defer accessing your pension until after your Normal Retirement Age.
If you take your benefits after the Plan's Normal Retirement Age (relevant to your section), your pension will be increased to reflect that you will receive it for less time than if you had retired at Normal Retirement Age.
You may need to gain the Trustee's consent if you wish to delay taking your pension beyond Normal Retirement Age.
Note: The Trust Deed and Rules govern the benefits you are entitled to, so you should use this website as a guide only and read it together with the Trust Deed and Rules.
Your options at retirement
Option 1
You can take an annual pension, which will be paid to you in equal monthly instalments.
Option 2
You can give up some of your pension in return for a one-off tax-free cash lump sum of up to 25% of the value of your benefits in the Plan. If you take a lump sum, you will receive a smaller annual pension.
Additional Voluntary Contributions ('AVCs')
AVCs are additional pension contributions you pay that are invested into an individual pension account for your benefit.
Members are no longer able to make AVCs to the Plan. If you have previously paid AVCs to the Scheme, your AVC funds will remain invested with the Plan until you retire, die or transfer your benefits out of the Plan. If you request a transfer out, your AVC fund will normally form part of your transfer value.
If you retire, you can use your AVC fund to provide additional pension and/or use it to pay for some or all of your tax-free cash lump sum (subject to limits – see Your options at retirement above).
If you die before you retire, the AVCs you have built up will be paid to your beneficiary(-ies). The Trustee will take any beneficiaries you nominate into account, but will make the final decision.
Transfers out
A transfer value, sometimes known as a CETV ('Cash Equivalent Transfer Value'), represents a lump sum the Plan will offer you in exchange for transferring all of your pension liability to another pension scheme or provider. This would mean that you give up all future claims to benefits from the Plan.
The CETV is meant to be equivalent to what it would cost you to buy the same pension income from another pension provider.
If you wish to transfer your benefits from the Plan, contact the Plan administrators, Isio and they will issue a Transfer Value Quotation pack. Before you contact Isio, please visit the Pension scams page for information about how to spot the signs of a potential scam. We will always encourage you to take regulated financial advice before you transfer your benefits. If your CETV is more than £30,000, the law requires you to take regulated financial advice.
To find a regulated financial adviser near you, go to Unbiased.
The transfer value for your DB benefits is guaranteed for three months following the date of calculation. Transfer values for AVCs cannot be guaranteed as they depend on the unit prices/fund values in place at the time the transfer occurs.
You are only legally entitled to one transfer value quotation in any 12-month period and we may charge you if you ask for additional transfer value quotations.
Benefits on death
In the event of your death, your next of kin or personal legal representative should contact Isio as soon as practically possible to prevent any overpayments.
Any pension payments will be stopped, and Isio will review the Trust Deed and Rules where appropriate, to determine if any further benefits are payable. You can complete an Nomination form to let the Trustee know who you would like to receive any death benefits payable. The Trustee isn't bound by your wishes, but it will take them into account. You can find the Nomination form in the Document library.
Annual benefit statements
Isio currently intend to issue benefit statements direct to in-service deferred members each 31 July.
Back to TopComplaints and dispute resolution
The Trustee endeavours at all times to administer the Plan so that members do not have cause for complaint. However, if a matter does occur and you have been unable to resolve it with the Plan's administrators directly, you may then wish to use the Plan's formal complaints procedure. This is known as the Internal Dispute Resolution Procedure ('IDRP'). You may make an application for the Trustee to consider your complaint or disagreement by writing to:-
The Trustee Directors of the Arconic Pension Planc/o Ross Trustees Services Limited
Westgate House
9 Holborn
London
EC1N 2LL
You can find further details in the IDRP policy.