How can I withdraw money from my pension?

Under the National Pensions Act, no member or former member is entitled to a refund; except under the following conditions:

 

• If the value of the member's pension account is less than CI$5,000 or

• Where a member reaches age 65 and wants to but is unable to transfer their pension benefit to an approved pension plan, retirement savings account or similar arrangement, or life annuity and

• The member's employment is terminated; and

• The member no longer resides in Cayman.

• You have Additional Voluntary Contributions

​

Additional Voluntary Contributions are extra payments to your pension. If you have AVCs, you may be granted early access to them, so long as you are using them under these four categories:

• Medical purposes

• Temporary unemployment

• Housing purposes

• Educational purposes

 

Further conditions apply under the National Pensions Act, and the Department of Labour and Pensions provides guidance on this.

​

You are permitted to access your AVCs up to 4 times each year. There is no requirement for you to repay this.

 

A waiting period and/or proof of non-residency may be required (for example, a current letter from an employer confirming the member's address or a sworn affidavit of non-residency.)

​

If the value of the member's account is greater than CI$5,000, The National Pensions Act requires that after the completion of a two-year waiting period members may transfer their account (with the approval of the Director of the Department of Labour and Pensions') to an approved retirement account in another country, or apply for a Retirement Savings Arrangement (RSA) to receive annual payments. Additional information and specific requirements are included in each of the refund packages. 

 

Members should contact the Administrator should they have any questions concerning meeting the requirements for a refund. The Administrator can be contacted at admin@pensions.ky.

 

The member's pension cannot be paid out or transferred until their employer makes the final contribution to their account. This may be two weeks or more after the member has stopped working. As a result, you should be aware that a refund or transfer may take three months or more, so do not plan on using a pension refund to leave the Island or to pay expenses.
 

Administrative expenses incurred while executing the refund, such as draft and courier fees, will be deducted from the refund amount.