NHS Pension Top Up

Scotnorm

My wife (who is 51) has the opportunity to top up her NHS pension by £4000 p.a. She estimates that this will cost £60,000 in extra payments to do this. She plans to retire from the NHS at age 60. The money to top up her pension would otherwise be invested in an ISA feeder account over the next three years.

My questions are:

Is topping up her pension a good choice - bearing in mind my wife is very risk adverse when it comes to finaces?

What if my wife precedes me, what are my entitlements to receiving her NHS pension?

edinburgher

It would seem to be quite a good choice for her in that she will receive an agreed increase in income for a fixed sum/payments agreed in advance.

Without meaning to be goulish, however, it's probably worthwhile considering how long she has to claim the additional pension before she breaks even (i.e. 15 years). If she comes from a family with decent longevity and is in generally good health it could prove to be a very reasonable investment.

Scotnorm

Thanks for the reply - my wifes family history is not great, but then again she looks a fter herself a lot better than her predecessors and I think barring the unkown, living on to at least 75 is a fairly safe bet.

nad1611

There's the possibility of adding a dependant to the reckoning on the NHS calculator page, called With Dependant Cover, in regard to your question about it coming to you.. See here;

http://www.nhspa.gov.uk/PDweb/pensioncalculators/AdditionalPension/index.cfm?CFID=49113&CFTOKEN=64042057

The contribution cost differs depending on whether a lump sum is made or a payment plan set up. You can take some of this as a lump sum like the normal pension.