Originally Posted by
Easy Street
I understand LJ's frustration. You don't need financial advice to understand the simple fact that your AFPS75 rights were/will be preserved on transfer, to AFPS05 (if you took it) and AFPS15 (whether you end up taking it in 2015 or 2022).
If you have AFPS75 in your pension history then you will get a AFPS75 lump sum on retirement. The more years you had on AFPS75, the bigger it will be. It really is as simple as that.
If you are not confident in your ability to use the pension calculator to make projections, then a financial advisor will help you work out which of the AFPS15 transfer points you should opt for, and whether you should retire a few weeks before your mandatory date. Those are decisions you can take nearer the time.
For the avoidance of doubt *your earned pension rights cannot be taken away and there is no need to leave the service to protect them*.
If you are in a position to retire now with full benefits it might be worth considering the effect on your pension by however many years of no pay rise or below inflation pay rises you are likely to endure. At 55 your pension is index linked. I retired after the last bout of austerity at level 35 PAS and my pension was less than a mate who retired 5 years earlier at level 30.