Local Council Early Retirement/Voluntry Redundancy

daveoc22

Our local council have to cut staff numbers and are offering early retirement and voluntry redundancy.

My wife is 60 and her line manager is telling her that, because of her age, early retirement and voluntry redundancy are the same thing.

Is this right?. I thought:

Voluntry redundancy at 60= lump sum and immediate non-discounted pension based on years of service to current age..

Early retirement at 60= no lump sum but immediate non-discounted pension with years of service worked out to 65.

I cannot track down anything in writing that gives a definitive answer, and I suspect that every local council has the right to do what suits them best.

Anyone any experience of this?

Thanks

McKneff

It isnt the same thing. It happened to me, I was thinking of retirement but luckily before I decided to my company made me redundant, I was nearing 62.

As you say, early retirement means she leaves of her own accord and chooses whether to take her pension or not.

VR means they have to pay her redundancy money.

If she takes early retirement, she would be sancioned by the DWP for leaving work voluntarily. After the sanction she could claim JSA

She can, in effect, claim job seekers allowance if taking VR, straight away.

Tell her to stay where she is till redundancy is offered.

They cant do what suits them best, they have to abide by employment law.

daveyjp

She isn't being told the truth. If she takes VR she will get a VR payment, it may also be an opportune moment to also retire, but the two are mutually exclusive as she could take VR and not take her pension.

She needs to contact the pension fund for a calculation of what she would get if she retired now.

Bigmoney2

It may be the case that for those old enough to claim their pension i.e. over 55, that there is an enhanced pension option, (at company request) which may be better than redundacy and then claiming pension at their own request (i.e. with no enhancement).

Andy_L

I suspect it may be that, like the civil service scheme, if you are over a certain age you have no choice but receive the early retirement package instead of the redundancy package

http://www.lgps.org.uk/lge/core/page.do?pageId=102180

"If your employer makes you redundant or retires you in the interests of business efficiency and you are aged 55 or over, your benefits are payable immediately without reduction. Your employer may also enhance your benefits at their discretion."

dottodot

My Mum took voluntary redundancy a few months before she was 65 - the thinking of her company being, I believe, that it would be age discrimination not to treat her the same as others.

Unless, as Bigmoney2 says, there is some sort of enhanced pension that would make her better off than redundancy, she should certainly challenge this. I'd suggest she contacts the HR department rather than taking the word of her line manager - who is unlikely to be as up-to-speed on employment law.

daveoc22

Thanks for replies.

We're waiting to see some figures which she has been told she will be sent.

davmail

I worked for 23 years for a local authority,I was offered,and took voluntary redundancy,on my redundnacy forms it stated that I was made redundant,but this was so I could claim jobseekeers,although I never did,got a job very quickly after leaving in January 2011.
I got just over £32,000 and had to sign a form stating that I would not make any claim or divulge any info regarding my local authority,I never paid any money into a pension fund,so the redundancy payment was it.:(Oh,by the way,I was 62 when I left.

Bigmoney2

davmail wrote: »

I worked for 23 years for a local authority,I was offered,and took voluntary redundancy,on my redundnacy forms it stated that I was made redundant,but this was so I could claim jobseekeers,although I never did,got a job very quickly after leaving in January 2011.
I got just over £32,000 and had to sign a form stating that I would not make any claim or divulge any info regarding my local authority,I never paid any money into a pension fund,so the redundancy payment was it.:(Oh,by the way,I was 62 when I left.

Which you have just done.

Sounds like a compromise agreement rather than redundancy