Please help to simplify my Civil service pension

alanco15

Hi all carrying on from a previous post
I am still trying to get my head around my pension and what it means to me.
I joined in 1997 which i believe was classic
then at some point was given option to change to I think Premium which i did under advise from others ( but wasnt really sure at the time)

Now my wage slip reads Alpha pension contributions, dont remember being asked to change think it was forced on us , MOD Fire service

what i would like to know is , I have 18 years odd paying in, I think it is 30/60 pension but again not 100%, does that mean i only have to pay in for another 12 years to gain full pension , which can be claimed when ??

or am i totally wrong, sorry for my ignorance pensions have always confused me and the new statements have even less info on them.

Kynthia

Did you keep your years in Classic when you moved to Premium or did you transfer them in to Premium (I think you would have received slightly less than 1 year of Premium for each year of Classic)?

If you kept some Classic then the reckonable years in this will get you 80ths of final salary and a lump sum of 3 times this value. The maximum in Classic you could build was half your final salary (40/80ths). Premium reckonable service will buy you 60ths of your final salary. The maximum pension you could build was 40/60ths. Your last annual benefits statement should show you this.

Alpha wasn't a choice. Unless you were within a certain number of years away from retirement age you were moved in. The civil service pension scheme website will have information on this. Alpha isn't based on reckonable service and final salary, but you build a pension of 2.32% a year of your pensionable earnings each year. I don't know for sure but I can't see that there can be a maximum pension you are allowed to gain with this scheme unlike the 2/3rds of final salary in Premium. Again the scheme brochure should have this information.

alanco15

Thank you for your reply, I dont think i kept any classic it all transfered over i beleive.

I have just been looking at the website, and yes i can see there it says alpha was not a choice, i wasnt near retirement age so just in alpha with i asume the previous 17 years or so "banked "up until 31/03/2015, then starting on alpha.
My NPA has risen from 60 to 65 !!!!!!!!!!!! just like that .
I was hoping to retire earliest opportunity possible , was trying to use the online calculator thing but doesnt seem to work.
So i think you are right i cant reach maximum benefits as it is a average pension scheme with NPA 65
Any idea if i retired at 55 how much i would lose , ? really hardto know with 2 different schemes running together.
thank you

hyubh

alanco15 wrote: »

My NPA has risen from 60 to 65 !!!!!!!!!!!! just like that .

Only for membership with Alpha itself. Your final salary benefits keep the NPA they had.

So i think you are right i cant reach maximum benefits as it is a average pension scheme with NPA 65

The concept of 'maximum benefits' or a 'full pension' falls away.

Any idea if i retired at 55 how much i would lose , ? really hardto know with 2 different schemes running together.

About 4.5%-5% per year from the respective NPAs.

Kynthia

alanco15 wrote: »

Thank you for your reply, I dont think i kept any classic it all transfered over i beleive.

I have just been looking at the website, and yes i can see there it says alpha was not a choice, i wasnt near retirement age so just in alpha with i asume the previous 17 years or so "banked "up until 31/03/2015, then starting on alpha.
My NPA has risen from 60 to 65 !!!!!!!!!!!! just like that .
I was hoping to retire earliest opportunity possible , was trying to use the online calculator thing but doesnt seem to work.
So i think you are right i cant reach maximum benefits as it is a average pension scheme with NPA 65
Any idea if i retired at 55 how much i would lose , ? really hardto know with 2 different schemes running together.
thank you

Your last annual benefits statement will show you what reckonable service you have in Premium as it may not be exactly 17 years. Then it will give you an idea of the pension it will give you based on your final salary, so any promotions during the coming years will increase this whole pension. It is also due to payout at 60 and it's not recomended to take it earlier as it's permanently reduced, however some people decide partial and early retirement is best for them.

You will build up an Alpha pension for however long you are in the scheme. This pays out at state retirement age, whenever that is for you. You can pay extra to bring this forward by up to 3 years.

If you're wanting to retire before state pension age then you need to see if you can live on what Premium will pay you until your state pension begins. If you want to retire before 60 then as well as that you'll need to fund the time before your Premium pension begins. Instead of considering taking it early with a reduction, could you look at savings, investments, AVCs or a private pension which you can use to fund the gap between retirement and getting your Premium pension?

xylophone

http://www.civilservicepensionscheme.org.uk/media/181384/pps-april16-v1.pdf

http://www.civilservicepensionscheme.org.uk/members/the-new-pension-scheme-alpha/what-are-the-2015-changes/

http://www.civilservicepensionscheme.org.uk/media/95349/alpha_fullschemeguide_colour_v3.pdf

Above might help.