Refund of NHS pension contributions

debtfree2901

Thank you everyone for your replies. To answer a question someone asked, without going into detail, I won't be around for my retirement - not ill health, it's complicated. One last question if anyone can answer this, if I were to apply to transfer accrued benefits to another pension arrangement and this process was completed, is there another pension provider out there who will allow you to withdraw your contributions?  Again, thank you to everyone for your replies.

Dazed_and_C0nfused

Once transferred you wouldn't have "contributions" you would have a pension fund.

How old are you, this is a critical factor.

kuratowski

I don't see how a transfer is likely in the first place.  Legislation was specifically passed to prevent transfers from the unfunded public sector pension schemes to DC schemes (Xylophone already explained this above).
The only kind of transfers allowed are to occupational DB schemes.  So you would first need to find a new job with an employer who offers a DB pension still open to new employees.  There can't be many of these employers left, perhaps LGPS or USS?
Then you would need to transfer the NHS into the new DB scheme.  You couldn't make any withdrawals from that new DB scheme either.  It would then be necessary to make another transfer to DC, which requires expensive financial advice and has been discussed to death on this forum, long story short it is not at all an easy route.
Finally, one new job and two pension transfers later, your pension is in a DC scheme and you still can't access it before age 55, rising to age 57 in 2028.

Silvertabby

kuratowski said:

I don't see how a transfer is likely in the first place.  Legislation was specifically passed to prevent transfers from the unfunded public sector pension schemes to DC schemes (Xylophone already explained this above).
The only kind of transfers allowed are to occupational DB schemes.  So you would first need to find a new job with an employer who offers a DB pension still open to new employees.  There can't be many of these employers left, perhaps LGPS or USS?
Then you would need to transfer the NHS into the new DB scheme.  You couldn't make any withdrawals from that new DB scheme either.  It would then be necessary to make another transfer to DC, which requires expensive financial advice and has been discussed to death on this forum, long story short it is not at all an easy route.
Finally, one new job and two pension transfers later, your pension is in a DC scheme and you still can't access it before age 55, rising to age 57 in 2028.

As kuratowski says.

The fact that the NHS pension can't/won't be transferred directly to a DC scheme does offer some protection against the scammers but, sadly, someone who is desperate enough to believe their lies could still be taken for a ride.  

Marcon

debtfree2901 said:

Thank you everyone for your replies. To answer a question someone asked, without going into detail, I won't be around for my retirement - not ill health, it's complicated. One last question if anyone can answer this, if I were to apply to transfer accrued benefits to another pension arrangement and this process was completed, is there another pension provider out there who will allow you to withdraw your contributions?  Again, thank you to everyone for your replies.

Why - if you can explain without going into details you don't want to disclose - are you so anxious to withdraw your contributions rather than the whole fund (which would include the benefit of employer contributions)? As others have already said, you can't do that; even if you could, what you'd 'get back' would be reduced to reflect the fact you've received tax relief and paid lower NI contributions for at least part of your period of scheme membership, so the amount isn't likely to be as much as you could be hoping for.

Jami74

debtfree2901 said:

I won't be around for my retirement - not ill health, it's complicated. 

That sounds worrying. Hope you are okay.
I think you can name someone to receive some of pension should you die before you reach retirement.

Marcon

Jami74 said:

debtfree2901 said:

I won't be around for my retirement - not ill health, it's complicated. 

That sounds worrying. Hope you are okay.
I think you can name someone to receive some of pension should you die before you reach retirement.

OP has already said this isn't ill health. It's a DB scheme, so the rules will set out who is eligible to receive any survivors' pension(s).

Obviously I can't second guess the particular reasons in this case, but twice in the past I've come across members asking similar questions. They were members of religious groups which believed the world was going to end rather sooner than the rest of us believed (or at least hoped), so - not unreasonably - wanted their money before that happened. It was interesting trying to explain to them that the Inland Revenue (as HMRC was at the time) would only permit what they wanted to do if there was what was known as a 'qualifying event' - and the end of the world wasn't on the Inland Revenue's list of qualifying events!

Jami74

Marcon said:

OP has already said this isn't ill health. 

Obviously I can't second guess the particular reasons in this case, but twice in the past I've come across members asking similar questions. They were members of religious groups which believed the world was going to end rather sooner than the rest of us believed (or at least hoped), so - not unreasonably - wanted their money before that happened. 

Sometimes people die even without ill health 

I hadn't considered the OP might think we would all die 

Maybe they're planning to go off grid for some reason.