Pension Choice....Civil Service v Teachers

micromaxxmisery

Hi folks

I have been accepted to join Civil Service, and believe I have the option of transferring my teacher pension (7 years @ NPA65 and 3 years CARE @ SPA) to the civil service Alpha scheme (with final salary portion placee in to Nuvos I think?) I notice there are slightly different rates of growth used between the two schemes, but may have read somewhere that CS will use Teachers figures for uprating or something?

Does anyone have any thoughts on whether it is a good idea to move, or just to leave it? Would it make any difference?

I'm not sure if this is relevant but I will take a drop in salary.

Don't have any figures from CS yet, just wondering, and know folk on here are more clued up than me!

Thanks so much.

Dox

Sensible thing is to wait until you get the figures and perhaps then ask any outstanding questions?

Good luck with the career change.

hyubh

micromaxxmisery wrote: »

I have the option of transferring my teacher pension (7 years @ NPA65 and 3 years CARE @ SPA) to the civil service Alpha scheme (with final salary portion placee in to Nuvos I think?)

Nuvos was CARE, but yes, the final salary credit would transfer over as a final salary credit on very similar terms to what it was when you were an active member of the TPS.

I notice there are slightly different rates of growth used between the two schemes, but may have read somewhere that CS will use Teachers figures for uprating or something?

Yes, the active member revaluation rate for a Club transfer in remains the rate of the old scheme. This will make the CARE part of your TPS pension transfer over essentially like-for-like.

Does anyone have any thoughts on whether it is a good idea to move, or just to leave it? Would it make any difference?

The benefit is in having the 7 years reckonable service with a re-activated final salary link. Given the way a Club transfer (i.e. public sector to public sector transfer) works, if your whole time equivalent pay in the civil service at the end is higher than what you left the TPS on, adjusted for inflation, you're quids in, if it is less (adjusted for inflation) than you've lost out.

That said, transferring would also mean the whole lot would factor into an early retirement for whatever reason. Also, while it wouldn't necessarily rule out taking your DB pension benefits in two parts if you came to want that, you would need to utilise Alpha's flexible retirement provisions rather than have that option by default.

I'm not sure if this is relevant but I will take a drop in salary.

Doesn't matter how your rate of pay compares now, it's how it will compare when you leave the civil service - basically, for a Club transfer, the inward service credit for final salary service is calculated using the old scheme's final pay figure. However, if you are unlikely to get promotions, then yes, this would be a very good reason not to transfer.

micromaxxmisery

Many thanks to you both. I will look at the figures when they arrive, and probably be back on!

Maxx