Make your pension work for you

One of the choices you have as a deferred hybrid member is to transfer out the value of your pension benefits to another pension scheme.

You can transfer your DB pension, DC pension pot or both, to a new employer's pension scheme or any registered pension arrangement. If you choose this option you need to complete a Transfer-out Request form which you can find in the Information Centre.

As a hybrid member, when you decide you want to take your benefits, your DB pension will be calculated using two methods and you’ll receive whichever one produces the highest pension:

1. A pension based on your DB pensionable service up to 30 June 2015 and your DB pensionable salary at date of leaving (which will include any salary increases from 1 July 2015).  This will then be revalued in line with the Scheme rules to help protect your benefits from inflation, 

or

2. A pension based on your DB pensionable service and DB pensionable salary as at 30 June 2015, revalued in line with the Scheme Rules as if you left service (to help protect your pension against the impact of inflation) from 1 July 2015 up to your retirement date.

If you build up a large amount of pension savings over your lifetime you may reach what is known as the "Lifetime Allowance" (LTA). The Lifetime Allowance (LTA) was the maximum amount that someone could save in their pension without incurring additional tax. The LTA has now been abolished and has been replaced by two new lump sum allowances. From 6 April 2024, the total amount of your pension savings (across all your pension schemes) that can be paid as tax-free lump sums will be limited by the Lump Sum Allowance and the Lump Sum and Death Benefit Allowance.

You can find out more about the Lifetime Allowance here.

If you die as a deferred hybrid member of the Scheme (after leaving HSBC but before you’ve retired), the total value of your DC pension pot (including the value of HSBC’s contributions) will be paid as a lump sum at the Trustee’s discretion. What happens to your DB pension savings will depend on your original scheme. As a deferred hybrid member, it’s important to make sure you keep your beneficiaries’ details up to date. To find out more about your DB benefits, visit the Information Centre and go to ‘Member Guides’. Then select your former scheme booklet.

For more information about protection benefits visit our choose your beneficiaries page. 

If you want to know exactly how much financial support your family would receive you can use the calculations and examples in the ‘Your DB and DC Pension Benefits Working Together’ (4.6MB, PDF) in our Information Centre.

Any consideration of a divorcing couple’s assets usually includes pension rights. Our HSBC Administration Team can help if you want more information. Remember to update your personal details if you’re getting divorced or dissolving your civil partnership. You should also make sure your details are up to date on the My Beneficiaries page in MSS.

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