NHS Pension - Starting at Aged 49 - Is it Worth It?

crv1963

As others have said the cost for the pension gained is minimal to you. Why turn down free money? Even if you retire fully before SPA the pension built up will be useful. 

Tooskint

I am not saying dont but you already have paid into pension for 28 years so maybe get them to do an analysis of what you might get back.  If you only part time it might not be that great as you will have to work longer to get complete years.  Also would you not want to pay towards any debts, mortgage or go on holiday first.  I work for nhs by the way.
 

gary83

Tooskint said:

I am not saying dont but you already have paid into pension for 28 years so maybe get them to do an analysis of what you might get back.  If you only part time it might not be that great as you will have to work longer to get complete years.  Also would you not want to pay towards any debts, mortgage or go on holiday first.  I work for nhs by the way.
 

But the op hasn’t spent 28 years paying into a pension, it was a military non contribution defined benefit pension. After 28 years service it will have already paid out a pretty significant lump sum along with an immediate pension going forward, that’s probably why the OP is in the position to be working part time. He’s probably also in a better position than most to take advantage of whatever free money he can in the way of a pension going forward.

It’s worth looking into properly for the OP & not just discounting the thought of a pension because they’re 49. I can’t help thinking if HR don’t understand pensions what hope is there for the rest of us?

hyubh

Tooskint said:

I am not saying dont but you already have paid into pension for 28 years so maybe get them to do an analysis of what you might get back.  If you only part time it might not be that great as you will have to work longer to get complete years.

What do you mean by this? An NHS pension isn't calculated with reference to 'complete years', i.e. the accrual and revaluation rates don't vary on how 'full time' a member is, at all. The pension will go way beyond the contributions paid regardless of how many hours the OP works.

Tooskint

All I mean is that I have 19 years service but as I work only 4 days a week I only have 12 pensionable years when you look at statement

hyubh

Tooskint said:

All I mean is that I have 19 years service but as I work only 4 days a week I only have 12 pensionable years when you look at statement

Bit irrelevant for the OP as they will be going straight into the CARE scheme, but for you, apportioning calendar service for part time hours is the flip side to having your final pay being whole-time equivalent. This is a positive thing - if your final salary benefits were calculated using your calendar service and actual pay, you'd likely be in a worse position, and certainly if you came to drop your hours before leaving.

nigelbb

crv1963 said:

As others have said the cost for the pension gained is minimal to you. Why turn down free money? Even if you retire fully before SPA the pension built up will be useful. 

The NHS pension is effectively a large chunk of deferred salary which is paid in retirement. You accrue at 1/54 so if your salary is £54K you earn £1K salary each year. With average lifespan at retirement of 20 years or more that's another £20K you get paid or around another 40% all index-linked of course.

RiffRAF

gary83 said:

Another vote for if you have the chance of a public service pension jump at it.

in addition if I was you, and I’m assuming you’ve just recently retired from the RAF and didn’t have the option to decide whether or not to move from AFPS 75 to AFPS 75/15 I’d go on the armed forces pension society website and read the latest news on there about that decision, once the dust has settled it would be well worth you spending £40 to join and get them to work out the figures for you and find out whether it’s in your best interest to revert to the 75 scheme.

Thanks, I’m already a member. We’ve been told to sit tight, and not submit any new casework. It may take several years to sort out.

Dox

Tooskint said:

I am not saying dont but you already have paid into pension for 28 years so maybe get them to do an analysis of what you might get back.  If you only part time it might not be that great as you will have to work longer to get complete years.  Also would you not want to pay towards any debts, mortgage or go on holiday first.  I work for nhs by the way.
 

What are you on about? Whether someone works full time or part time they get great benefits, with employer contributions far outweighing personal contributions (and personal contributions also get tax relief). Contributions are linked to actual salary received, so although part-timers build up fewer years and months of pensionable service than someone working full time, they also also pay contributions on their lower part time salary. 

RiffRAF

gary83 said:

Tooskint said:

I am not saying dont but you already have paid into pension for 28 years so maybe get them to do an analysis of what you might get back.  If you only part time it might not be that great as you will have to work longer to get complete years.  Also would you not want to pay towards any debts, mortgage or go on holiday first.  I work for nhs by the way.
 

But the op hasn’t spent 28 years paying into a pension, it was a military non contribution defined benefit pension. After 28 years service it will have already paid out a pretty significant lump sum along with an immediate pension going forward, that’s probably why the OP is in the position to be working part time. He’s probably also in a better position than most to take advantage of whatever free money he can in the way of a pension going forward.

It’s worth looking into properly for the OP & not just discounting the thought of a pension because they’re 49. I can’t help thinking if HR don’t understand pensions what hope is there for the rest of us?

As HR it’s always easy to dish out advice and guidance, sometimes you just need to ask the same questions. 
I just wasn’t sure if paying into a 2nd pension, based on part time hours, and probably paying into it for no more than 10 years would be worth it, especially when I’ve already got an annual pension that just exceeds the basic tax code. If the smaller 2nd pension is going to be heavily taxed, it may be better to save the monthly pension contribution.