Civil Service Partial Retirement

Lucy_Lastic

I am a Civil Servant and have decided to go for partial retirement later this year.

I have looked into the scheme in detail and decided that it will suit me.

As yet I have not applied, but will do very soon and need to be prepared to put over my request in the best way possible so that it will be agreed by my employer.

My question is not about the scheme and whether I am doing the right thing, but how can I put it over as a good idea and of benefit to my employer?

I will be reducing my hours by 20%, which is great for me, but why would my boss agree that it would benefit him? I work for the MOD and my boss in in the Navy, so he has no direct interest in saving 20% on my wages, he will just be getting less output. While I don't think he would unreasonably deny me partial retirement I just wonder how I can "sell it" to him?

My concern is that he will be looking at the long term situation and be wondering if, when I eventually retire in about 3 years time, he will be able to justify replacing me with a full time worker.

Any ideas how I can best put this idea over?

Andy_L

The saving will apply to his (or his boss's) budget

If he doesn't let you go and you retire fully/apply for a new job that will let you partially retire then he will have to recruit & train up a suitable replacement. Depending on how niche your skill set is that may be tricky/expensive

Lucy_Lastic

Thanks Andy - I can't retire fully for at least 3 years, and would not really want to move jobs just to find one that would let me do reduced hours - I like this job! But of course the boss does not know that I would not retire/move does he?

I will have to work out just how much my skills are valued and if I can bluff 'em! Of course I may be anticipating resistance where there will be none, but I like to be prepared for all eventualities.

The only other threads on this subject are over 12 months old now and no doubt those who have actually gone for the partial retirement option are far too busy to answer this question!

Camdoon

I think you will have to come up with a fairly powerful argument/threat/schmooze so that he thinks he can cope with only 4 days' support. It not being you that is the issue but finding a replacement willing to do only 4 days would be difficult. You could perhaps persuade him that when you left it could go to 2.5 days.
If you intend retiring in 3 years time you may be better waiting for redundancy as the MOD will need to lose more staff over the coming years. You can get up to 21 months pay - reducing up to 60 and 6 months pay thereafter.

Camper2

How about -
1.You could get a 'Job Share' to bring the hours totals to the normal amount, two people who job share are usually more productive than one person
2.Here is your chance to train up my replacement, as I leave in 3 years, while I am here to do the training for you
Good luck with this

bigfreddiel

couldn't you just do a 4day week with leave and flexi leave?

when i was a civil servant i had 30 days leave and i could easily work my hours to take 2 flexi days off a month, add in public holidays and privilege days that makes a total of about 70 days leave a year - take one day a week that leaves you 18 days leave to take as a lump or carry over.

working a compressed week could also work

if you do go for partial retirement then your pension plus salary cannot exceed your full=time salary right now, and you should also check the abatement rules

good luck

fj

Lucy_Lastic

Thank you all for your replies.

Camdoon, As there are two of us in the support office, the boss would only be without support one day a week when the other person was away on leave/sick.
Having looked into it further, the reduction in hours only applies to me while I am in this job, not to my replacement. When I eventually retire the job would go back to full time i.e. 5 days a week. I did not understand your bit about 2.5 days a week. I doubt I would get redundancy, there are cheaper people to get rid of before me! I applied for VERS (voluntary early redundancy scheme) last year and was refused.

Camper2, I only want to reduce my hours by 7.5 (1 day) so a job share would not work unfortunately.

bigfreddiel, I already work my flexi time to give me a 4.5 day week so I can finish at lunchtime on a Friday, so what I am wanting to do will actually result in a 3.5 day week. I really don't want to have to start any earlier in the morning and am not keen on staying on in the evenings either. Longer days just leave me too knackered to enjoy the free time that I have.
The abatement comes in when you opt to take an amount of pension that, added to your reduced salary, comes to more than your original salary. That is my understanding, though why you would opt to do that I really don't know, as it's up to the individual as to how much pension they take. I have calculated the exact amount of pension that I need to bring my income up to my present salary, therefore no abatement there.

The other mention of abatement is if you take any of your pension before your pension age (ie. 60). When I put in my age as either 58 or 59 the web site calculator shows no abatement, which puzzles me.

However, we are getting into the details and I can get all the information I need on that from HR/Pensions dept.

I was really just asking for ideas on how to sell this to the boss.
I know exactly what I want to do, I just need to put it over in the best way.