My benefits

If you decide to leave the RPS, the benefits you have saved will be 'preserved' until you’re ready to retire.

Your preserved benefits could include some, or all, of the following when you decide to take them:

• a pension for life
• a lump sum, currently payable tax-free, when you retire
• a lump-sum payment to your beneficiaries if you die before claiming your pension
• pensions for your two youngest eligible children until they are 18 – or older at the Trustee’s discretion if they are disabled or in full-time education
• a pension for your eligible or legal spouse, and
• a pension for eligible dependants (adults who have been fully or largely dependent on you financially in the two years before your death)

Every April, you may also receive an increase to your benefits. In recent years, the percentage increase has been based on the Consumer Prices Index (CPI) figure for the previous September. The annual increase usually stops at Normal Retirement Age, but you can check your section's policy in your Member's guide when you log into your myRPS account.

Request an estimate

You can ask for an estimate of your benefits online at any time. This will show their current worth, and explain your options when you retire.

Log in to your myRPS account to request an estimate. You must quote your pension reference number, which can be found in any correspondence about your Rail pension or ​when you log into your myRPS account. You can request as many estimates as you need for free online but you will be charged if you request more than one estimate within a year via the Helpline. 

Claiming your benefits