Jurisdiction(s):
United Kingdom

Key definition

Bridging pension definition

What does Bridging pension mean? A bridging pension is a temporary addition to an occupational pension paid when a member retires before state pension age, designed to “bridge” income until the state pension starts. Common in defined benefit (DB) schemes, it is usually offered as a levelling option: the scheme pension is increased or supplemented up to State Pension age and then reduced or the temporary element stops, so total retirement income is more even over time. The term is not defined in statute; it is a descriptive practice term used across England & Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland and Ireland. Its availability and...

Bridging pensions: operation, equal treatment case law, SPA increases, trustees’ section 68 powers, Equality Act age exceptions, and Finance Act tax rules (single-tier state pension)

Published by a LexisNexis Pensions expert

Practice notes

This Practice Note cites case law of the Court of Justice of the European Union. For guidance on whether EU judgments are binding on UK courts, see Practice Note: Assimilated law — Assimilated case law.

What are bridging pensions?

Bridging pensions are a type of pension provided by some, though not all, defined benefit occupational schemes when a member’s scheme pension begins before state pension age (SPA). As the name implies, they function as a temporary top-up designed to bridge the gap between the point the member’s normal scheme pension is paid and a later date—typically the member’s SPA—when their state pension starts.

Unequal SPAs for men and women and bridging pensions—how they interact

Until plans were considered by the government to equalise the SPAs for men and women in 1993, men continued to have an SPA of 65 and women 60. Bridging pensions are commonly used in an effort to ensure male and female members with different SPAs receive broadly comparable overall retirement income from the relevant pension scheme(s) and the state pension system, despite the SPA difference...

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Wyn Derbyshire

gunnercooke LLP

Wyn is a partner at gunnercooke LLP and specialises in pensions, trust and employment law in all industry sectors, dealing with the transactional, advisory and documentation aspects.He also has wide experience of the pensions implications of heavyweight corporate transactions and flotations, the issues arising from the establishment and merger of pension schemes, and sex equalisation and other discrimination issues in respect of benefits provided by pension schemes. In addition, he provides advice to pension scheme trustees generally.Recent transactions include advising Amcor on pension matters relating to the acquisition of Alcan business and the acquisition of Northern Foods PLC by Boparan Holdings.He is a co-author (with Stephen Hardy and Stephen Maffey) of TUPE: Law and Practice, published by Spiramus Press (now in its 4th edition), and co-author (with Stephen Hardy and David Wicks) of Money & Work, published by Spiramus Press in August 2007. He has also...

Web page updated on 21/05/2026

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