NAPS closure transitional options

There is no straightforward answer to this question. Your decision will depend on your personal circumstances. British Airways (BA) has provided a modeller within its Plan4Pensions website, which allows you to compare all the options available to help you make the decision that is right for you.

BA will pay your cash lump sum by 31 March 2018 and you will see this on your March 2018 payslip.

If you choose to have your lump sum paid into your account in the British Airways Pension Plan (BAPP) this will not affect the NAPS benefits you have built up to 31 March 2018. BA has advised that the contribution will be added to your BAPP account in April, after the start of the new tax year, and it will not therefore need to be included in your Annual Allowance (AA) assessment for the current tax year, which ends on 5 April 2018. What is the Annual Allowance?

If you choose to have your lump sum paid into your NAPS AVC account, the contribution will be paid into your NAPS AVC account by 31 March 2018. This means that the contribution will need to be included in your AA assessment for the current tax year, which ends on 5 April 2018. What is the Annual Allowance?

Click here for more FAQs on NAPS AVC Accounts.

If you choose the additional year’s service credit in NAPS it will be based on the higher of your NAPS build-up rate in force on 8 December 2017 (e.g. 1/67th or 1/60th) or the standard NAPS build-up rate of 1/75th (this may apply if your NAPS build-up rate on 8 December 2017 was 1/83rd or 1/130th). The service credit would be pro-rated for part-time colleagues.

Click here for more FAQs on the Annual Allowance (AA)

Click here for more FAQs on the Lifetime Allowance (LTA)

This option links your deferred NAPS pension at 31 March 2018 to future qualifying promotional or increment-based pay increases up to the earlier of 31 March 2021 or the date you reach your current NAPS Normal Retirement Age (NRA).

Note: Special conditions apply in respect of Senior First Officer pilots (SFOs) who gain Command on or before 31 December 2023.

You can download our separate 'Promotional/incremental pay link (Ground Staff and Cabin Crew)'' or 'Promotional/incremental pay link (Pilots)' guidance notes for more details on how this option will work with your NAPS deferred pension.

What is my current NRA?

Since 1 April 2007 you have built up pension benefits within one or more NAPS Plans which have different NRAs. The NRA for each Plan is shown below.

Pension benefits built up in Plan 65 have an NRA of age 65.
Pension benefits built up in Plan 60 have an NRA of age 60.
Pension benefits built up in Option 55 have an NRA of age 55 ¹

¹ Option 55 is part of Plan 60. Active members of Option 55 pay higher pension contributions in exchange for the actuarial discount that would apply to a Plan 60 pension drawn before age 60 to be removed. The NRA that applies to an Option 55 pension for an active member is age 60. However, once you become a deferred member, the NRA for Option 55 becomes age 55.

For more FAQs on the Annual Allowance (AA) and Lifetime Allowance (LTA), you can visit our Glossary page.

You can also read our Scheme Pays guidance note which includes detailed examples of how Annual Allowance charges can be paid from your NAPS benefits.