NHS pension early but working

Sawman

mollycat wrote: »

No offence taken mate, apologies if it read that way!

Agree with all that you have said on the thread; everyone's circumstances are different sure.

Maybe i've misunderstood the OP's motivation, but if giving up 27% of pension, (for ever) 80% of the lump sum and ending the opportunity to accrue more benefits is just to access the lump sum earlier, I don't think that's advantageous.

Anyway, stick in!

main motivation is to improve work life balance, clearing a chuck of the mortgage with lump might help facilitate this (or maybe not!)

crv1963

Sawman wrote: »

main motivation is to improve work life balance, clearing a chuck of the mortgage with lump might help facilitate this (or maybe not!)

I'd suggest maybe drop one of the posts? If that isn't practical at the moment can you rent a room near one of the posts, assuming that travel or at least time travelling is an issue and that you live near one of the workplaces?

I've taken a post 95 miles away from home, work 12.5 hour shifts, so after a month of travel I've rented a room from someone who works in the same Trust (not same Team), landlady is quite happy with the arrangement, she has a regular additional income and a CRB checked lodger. I have a round trip of 190 miles each week but pay less rent than I would for fuel. Mrs CRV is happy that I'm not travelling in the winter weather tired.

It might be worth exploring your options.

zagubov

We're not qualified to give advice on what to do, but what we can say is that there's no substitute for contacting the pension agency and asking them a bunch of factual questions directly. If they're anything like other public service pension agencies, they should be very helpful when contacted by phone.

Be aware, they won't suggest anything or offer advice, only answer factual questions and not really ones that start "will I be better off if I..... ". They probably won't have access to detailed personal financial questions so saying "how much more would I get if..." won't work either.

It might be a good idea to write down a few questions they can answer yes or no.

If I leave the scheme by retiring early and taking my pension can I ever rejoin it in future employment?
Can I join a later version of the NHS pension?
Can I retire early from one NHS post but continue work in another NHS post?
If I do that can I collect my full lump sum or a smaller fraction of it?
If I have a break in employment can I return to another post?
Will my pension be capped?
and so on. Try to think of as many factually-answerable questions as you can. It sounds like you'd be better off retiring from the lesser job but somehow access the pension being paid for by the larger job.

When you ring them jot down the key answers.
This website for GPs might have some helpful info as well, plus you've mentioned your trust pension adviser.


In education, the perceived wisdom is those who retire around 60 may have to fund (on average) close to thirty years retirement.
Good luck - I hope you get some useful answers.

Sawman

well, did my due dilligence, all was looking well, until I got to the bit about taking the pension before 55 and it not being index linked at that point. I can live with the reduced lump and pension, but this slews the long term view a bit too far.

looks like I'm stuck for another couple of years....

zagubov

Sawman wrote: »

well, did my due dilligence, all was looking well, until I got to the bit about taking the pension before 55 and it not being index linked at that point. I can live with the reduced lump and pension, but this slews the long term view a bit too far.

looks like I'm stuck for another couple of years....

Have you any leeway about cutting down the hours or dropping one of the posts while paying into the pension?

Got to be honest, it now looks like the pension's more valuable than taking a slice off the mortgage.

Are you on the cheapest mortgage possible? We saved £3.5k pa when I last remortgaged a couple of years ago and we'll still finish before I collect state pension.

billn

The index linking will apply from 55 as you already know but any increase you have missed you will catch up in percentage terms.



This from the NHS



Members with deferred benefits who left the Scheme after 30 March 2000 may also choose to retire early on a reduced pension. If you were an active member between 31 March 2000 and 5 April 2006 you may take your pension from age 50. If you were not an active member between these dates then you cannot take your pension until age 55. You may apply for early retirement by contacting NHS Pensions directly. Pensions that are paid early are increased with inflation each April, but this will only start once you reach age 55, at which point your pension will be increased to take account of changes since it was awarded.


One thing I would say from my wifes experience is check and double check everything you are told by the NHS pensions department.

Kynthia

Sawman wrote: »

well, did my due dilligence, all was looking well, until I got to the bit about taking the pension before 55 and it not being index linked at that point. I can live with the reduced lump and pension, but this slews the long term view a bit too far.

looks like I'm stuck for another couple of years....

If it's the same as my scheme the indexation will be applied at 55 to the same level it would have been if you hadn't taken the pension earlier. I don't think this usually makes a very big difference unless the "best" final salary picked is from many years ago, which then won't be indexed up to present value until you are 55.

Sawman

Ah! So only missing index linked up to 55 then continues as normal?

I have a chat booked with a IFA who specialises in nhs pensions. Need to clear up these small points

Cheers to all for comments

Mister_Magoo

Thanks for the answers.

GingerJim

If you currently have a good pensionable income, and it would be a good time to cash in on the pension (forgetting for the minute about the hit you take by taking the pension early), can you not alow down work wise, reduce your income and committments for the next few ywars, but still fix your 1995 pension to your current salary? I thought this was an option if your pay dropped by more than a certain amount. Your 2015 pension would continue to grow as a slower rate, but then when you hit 60 you have no deductions from your 1995 pension and that will be based on your current earnings... I thought I had read that on the NHS pensions website somewhere.