Early retirement

Retiring before the normal retirement age will affect your pension. Here are the key points to consider.

1. Calculating your reduced pension

3. Deciding whether a temporary annuity is right for you

2. Calculating your bridge benefit

4. Health and dental coverage in early retirement

For most members of BC’s Teachers’ Pension Plan, the normal retirement age is 65 and the earliest retirement age is 55.

If you are thinking about retiring before the plan's normal retirement age, you should keep the following in mind:

You must fully terminate all employment within the Teachers' Pension Plan in order to start collecting your pension
You will receive a reduced pension if you do not meet the minimum age and service criteria for an unreduced pension
You will receive a bridge benefit for service earned up to and including December 31, 2017, payable until you turn 65 or die, whichever happens first
You can buy a temporary annuity to supplement your retirement income until you turn 65 or die, whichever happens first
You are responsible for choosing the date your pension will start and you must apply to start your pension
You may be eligible for an unreduced pension before you reach normal retirement age
If you do not apply to start your unreduced pension when you are eligible, you will not be entitled to have your pension backdated to a previous date
You may want to talk to an independent financial advisor about which start date is best for you and your situation
Although your employee health care coverage will end when your employment ends, you can apply for voluntary extended health care and dental coverage through the plan when you apply for your pension