If you retire before you reach your State Pension Age (SPA), you can choose to start receiving your Scheme Pension straight away. However, you will have to wait until your SPA before you can start receiving your State Pension. You may be able to choose to ‘level out your pension’ so that the combined income you receive in each year of retirement remains around the same.
The Bridging Pension Option (BPO) is an additional temporary pension from the Scheme, leading up to your SPA. It starts when your Scheme Pension starts and stops at the point you are expected to receive your State Pension. Following this, your Scheme Pension reduces to a lower amount to take into account the earlier payment.
For more information, please see Members’ Guide to the BPO.