UK Pensions
Wood UK pensions home page
The Defined Benefit Section of the Wood Pension Plan is made up of three legacy pension arrangements:
AMEC Staff and Executive Pension Plan
Closed to future benefit accrual on 31st March 2016
Foster Wheeler
Pension Plan
Closed to future benefit accrual on 31st March 2010
John Wood Group Retirement Benefits Scheme
Closed to future benefit accrual on 31st May 2014
In 2016, following the acquisition of Foster Wheeler by AMEC, the Foster Wheeler Pension Plan was Merged into the AMEC Staff Pension Plan to form the Amec Foster Wheeler Pension Plan. In 2019, following the acquisition of Amec Foster Wheeler by John Wood Group, the John Wood Group Retirement Benefit scheme was merged into the Amec Foster Wheeler Pension Plan and the Plan was renamed the Wood Pension Plan.
Member information
Unlike the DC Section, there are relatively few decisions for individual members to make. The benefits of this section are defined and the Trustee of the Plan is responsible for the investment strategy and ensuring that the DB section has sufficient assets to pay the defined benefits as they fall due.
For pensioners and dependants, the pension benefits of the DB section are paid through the Wood Pensions payroll. For deferred members who have yet to start to receive their pension benefits, the benefits are calculated at the date of leaving active service.
Online access to pension benefits is available to all members of the Wood Pension Plan through the pension portal. The portal contains lots of information about the Wood Pension Plan. You can:
1. View key plan documentation
2. Monitor your own pension benefits
3. Check the basic information we hold
Pensioner members can view their payslips and P60 on the portal.
Registration details for the Portal have been previously issued to all Plan members. If you have misplaced your registration letter you can contact the pensions team for a copy.
Member options
Members not yet receiving their pension benefits are able to run retirement illustrations at various ages from age 55 onwards on the Pensions Portal. The earlier a member chooses to receive their pension benefits, the smaller the annual pension amount will be as the pension payments will be getting paid over a longer period of time.
Members can currently take up to 25% of the value of their DB pension benefits tax free upon the commencement of the pension payments.
As an alternative to receiving your DB pension benefits through the Plan, you typically have a statutory right to a cash equivalent transfer value which will enable you to transfer your DB Section pension to a different provider or pension vehicle of your choosing. You are also able to calculate and view your transfer values on the Pensions Portal also but please be aware that if your transfer value is over £30,000 you will be required to take regulated independent financial advice if you wish to transfer your Wood DB Section benefits.
