NHS Pension lump sum delayed, NHS Pension Agency staff unhelpful

benawhile

As of April 21 my partner has retired from the NHS after 36 years service with “officer” status, enabling maximum pension payment. She started preparing for it and gave notification 5 months ago and was expecting to get her maximum lump sum yesterday on the last day of her contract, as is the normal practice according to her retired colleagues, only to be informed by the NHS Pensions Agency today that her payment will be delayed by anything up to 30 days.

This does not seem right. We were expecting to get the lump sum today.

She submitted the AW8 application form via her employers pensions dept by recorded delivery on Nov 4th.

She had heard nothing by March 5th and phoned them, and was informed that the AW8 was received Nov 5th, and processed on Jan 29

They did not explain this delay, and furthermore admitted that they had neglected to send the standard notification letter of the date the lump sum and pension would be paid. We wonder if they had omitted anything else at this time which contributed to the delay.

They did assure her by phone that her lump sum would be paid within 10 days.

However the delayed notification letter received next day stated that it may take up to one calendar month for the lump sum to be paid, also that a “retirement notice” letter from the NHS Pensions Agency would be received “within 10 days” of the payment date to say how much would be paid.

As my partner was in contact with numerous colleagues who had received their lump sum the day after they retired she did not expect any undue delay in her case, but as her retirement drew near and she had had not received this retirement notice from NHS Pensions, and specifically because we were relying on this payment to pay off our mortgage, on April 16th she called the NHS Pensions help line for information.

She was given very short shrift and simply told the following:

The AW8 is in process and they are manually calculating entitlements ,

They will not give a timeline or any tracking or progress information

She “should” get the lump sum by May 22, if not to ring again,

However today another colleague from the same trust has just told her that although they don’t even retire until April 29th, they had been told they would receive their lump sum on the day after retirement.

This person didn’t submit their AW8 until January

My partner therefore phoned NHS Pensions again this morning, to put this to them, but to be told that whereas she would now “definitely” be paid sometime within a month, again no timeline will be given, and no explanation of how her colleagues are getting paid promptly.

This delay is going to cost us a further month’s mortgage payment of £900.00

We are writing here to ask what steps we can take to get some action from NHS Pensions, or if not, how we could claim interest for this lump sum to offset our Mortgage payment.

eskbanker

Worth concentrating on what's been put in writing (either in scheme rules or correspondence) and anything stated on phone conversations (especially if they've been recorded) by the scheme administrators; anything to do with anecdotal information from colleagues is unfortunately irrelevant and effectively worthless in the context of discussions with the administrators.  If at any stage she's been informed by an authorised representative that the lump sum would definitely be available in time to avoid this mortgage payment then she has cause for complaint....

dunstonh

This does not seem right. We were expecting to get the lump sum today.

You would think that there must be some national crisis going on where normal tasks are getting delayed due to people unable to go into offices.

Submitting paperwork too early does not actually speed things up.  It just means it sits on a pile longer until it needs to be looked at. Indeed, it could run the risk of being forgotten or misplaced.

My partner therefore phoned NHS Pensions again this morning, to put this to them, but to be told that whereas she would now “definitely” be paid sometime within a month, again no timeline will be given, and no explanation of how her colleagues are getting paid promptly.

The people retiring now may also suffer delays.    No point looking at what happens during normal times when offices are manned and everyone is available for work. 

We are writing here to ask what steps we can take to get some action from NHS Pensions, or if not, how we could claim interest for this lump sum to offset our Mortgage payment.

She retired yesterday.    Give it a chance.   There is no legislation or rule that requires the pension commencement lump sum to be paid the same day of retirement.  

squirrelpie

dunstonh said:

There is no legislation or rule that requires the pension commencement lump sum to be paid the same day of retirement.

Are there any related rules? It always strikes me as odd that the rules for payment of salaries seem to be much stricter than those for the payment of pensions, yet we are told that pensions are a vital part of the remuneration for our work just like our salary.

Silvertabby

Speaking from a LGPS viewpoint, the payment of the lump sum the day after retirement would never have been on the cards.  Someone who retired on the 21st of the month would be due a salary payment from 1st to 21st, which would be paid at the end of the month, along with everyone else's salaries.  Next step would be finalisation of the leaver's pay account, then the issue of final pay details (essential for the calculation of a DB pension) as a priority. 

Under normal circumstances, the earliest a LGPS member who left on 21 April could possibly expect payment of their lump sum would be early May.  Under the current situation, with fewer staff, and staff working from home, end of May would be within accepted timescales.

It's my understanding that NHS pensions operate in a similar manner.  Payment of the lump sum the day after retirement would be exceptionally good going - probably only possible if these people retired on the the 30th/31st of the month, and so after the payroll had been finalised - and that a fully staffed payroll department then immediately supplied the final leaver details to a fully staffed pensions department.

Amateurretiree

When I retired from the NHS three years ago, ( I retired on my 55th birthday) my lump sum was paid into my bank account on my birthday, everyone who I knew also got it on their birthday

Brynsam

benawhile said:

As of April 21 my partner has retired from the NHS after 36 years service with “officer” status, enabling maximum pension payment. She started preparing for it and gave notification 5 months ago and was expecting to get her maximum lump sum yesterday on the last day of her contract, as is the normal practice according to her retired colleagues, only to be informed by the NHS Pensions Agency today that her payment will be delayed by anything up to 30 days.

This does not seem right. We were expecting to get the lump sum today.

She submitted the AW8 application form via her employers pensions dept by recorded delivery on Nov 4th.

She had heard nothing by March 5th and phoned them, and was informed that the AW8 was received Nov 5th, and processed on Jan 29

They did not explain this delay, and furthermore admitted that they had neglected to send the standard notification letter of the date the lump sum and pension would be paid. We wonder if they had omitted anything else at this time which contributed to the delay.

They did assure her by phone that her lump sum would be paid within 10 days.

However the delayed notification letter received next day stated that it may take up to one calendar month for the lump sum to be paid, also that a “retirement notice” letter from the NHS Pensions Agency would be received “within 10 days” of the payment date to say how much would be paid.

As my partner was in contact with numerous colleagues who had received their lump sum the day after they retired she did not expect any undue delay in her case, but as her retirement drew near and she had had not received this retirement notice from NHS Pensions, and specifically because we were relying on this payment to pay off our mortgage, on April 16th she called the NHS Pensions help line for information.

She was given very short shrift and simply told the following:

The AW8 is in process and they are manually calculating entitlements ,

They will not give a timeline or any tracking or progress information

She “should” get the lump sum by May 22, if not to ring again,

However today another colleague from the same trust has just told her that although they don’t even retire until April 29th, they had been told they would receive their lump sum on the day after retirement.

This person didn’t submit their AW8 until January

My partner therefore phoned NHS Pensions again this morning, to put this to them, but to be told that whereas she would now “definitely” be paid sometime within a month, again no timeline will be given, and no explanation of how her colleagues are getting paid promptly.

This delay is going to cost us a further month’s mortgage payment of £900.00

We are writing here to ask what steps we can take to get some action from NHS Pensions, or if not, how we could claim interest for this lump sum to offset our Mortgage payment.

Don't believe all you hear, especially the ubiquitous 'everyone' getting their lump sum on the day they retire. It they are retiring from active service (as opposed to retiring some time after leaving active membership of the scheme/employer) it's hard to see how that could ever happen.

NHS Pensions might, and doubtless should, have managed your expectations better, but right now they are handling their own crises - staff working from home, problems having physical mail safely collected and opened, having to learn new procedures to ensure safety of payments and so on. Yes, it's annoying - but your expectations were never realistic, I fear. In the current climate they are hopelessly optimistic. Nobody is going to 'compensate' you unless the delay becomes exceptionally drawn out - and then only to the extent of a modest amount. 

crv1963

benawhile said:

This delay is going to cost us a further month’s mortgage payment of £900.00

We are writing here to ask what steps we can take to get some action from NHS Pensions, or if not, how we could claim interest for this lump sum to offset our Mortgage payment.

I think you are being hopelessly optimistic! I am due to retire 30 April and when I submitted the relevant forms in January I was told by my Trust pension officer to not to expect to hear from the Pension Agency until the last week in April and to not count on getting my lump sum until May. A colleague had her lump sum six weeks after retiring.

My situation is further complicated by my agreeing to retire and return, so although I have plans for the lump sum they are not critical to it arriving on a given date, Although delay is irritating in the current situation I expect NHSBA staff are probably running a minimum service in the pension side of things and putting the maximum effort into sourcing items needed, so I would simply accept that it will arrive when it arrives.

benawhile

Brynsam

I have no reason to disbelieve people who said they got their lump sum on time. I got mine on the day, although that was 2005! Also, I am not sure what you mean about retiring some time after leaving the scheme. You are not allowed to leave the scheme until you retire, at least I wasn't at the time. If you had worked your years you still had to keep on paying in while you were working. However, from the responses here, all of which I appreciate, we will not pursue the matter for now, but I am  reluctant to just assume that everything is delayed because of Covid - 19. There is no harm in asking, after all, and some services are working normally. My partner's own ward, for example, a newly dedicated Covid ward, was still only a quarter full when she retired!

Thanks again for your response

Brynsam

benawhile said:

Brynsam

I have no reason to disbelieve people who said they got their lump sum on time. I got mine on the day, although that was 2005! Also, I am not sure what you mean about retiring some time after leaving the scheme. You are not allowed to leave the scheme until you retire, at least I wasn't at the time. If you had worked your years you still had to keep on paying in while you were working. However, from the responses here, all of which I appreciate, we will not pursue the matter for now, but I am  reluctant to just assume that everything is delayed because of Covid - 19. There is no harm in asking, after all, and some services are working normally. My partner's own ward, for example, a newly dedicated Covid ward, was still only a quarter full when she retired!

Thanks again for your response

You can leave active membership (i.e. you continue to contribute and build up benefits) of any pension scheme at any time. No employer can make scheme membership compulsory, so anyone can 'opt out' of future membership. Generally, to opt out of the NHS scheme (or indeed any pension scheme) while you are still eligible to go on building up benefits would be pretty daft.

Silvertabby

Brynsam said:

benawhile said:

Brynsam

I have no reason to disbelieve people who said they got their lump sum on time. I got mine on the day, although that was 2005! Also, I am not sure what you mean about retiring some time after leaving the scheme. You are not allowed to leave the scheme until you retire, at least I wasn't at the time. If you had worked your years you still had to keep on paying in while you were working. However, from the responses here, all of which I appreciate, we will not pursue the matter for now, but I am  reluctant to just assume that everything is delayed because of Covid - 19. There is no harm in asking, after all, and some services are working normally. My partner's own ward, for example, a newly dedicated Covid ward, was still only a quarter full when she retired!

Thanks again for your response

You can leave active membership (i.e. you continue to contribute and build up benefits) of any pension scheme at any time. No employer can make scheme membership compulsory, so anyone can 'opt out' of future membership. Generally, to opt out of the NHS scheme (or indeed any pension scheme) while you are still eligible to go on building up benefits would be pretty daft.

Or you could leave the NHS to work for another employer, but leave your pension in the NHS scheme (deferred benefits).  The pension could then be paid at the appropriate age without further ado.