Paying into a new NHS pension scheme aged 57

cam269

Hi,
I took my lump sum NHS pension 2.5 years ago aged 55 and returned to work after taking a 48 hr break in contract & now work 3 days a week.
My manager informed me last week she should have enrolled me in the NEST pension scheme when I returned to work but forgot to tell me I had the option of doing this - she has now enrolled me into the scheme. She’s not keen to backdate it but is happy to come to an ‘agreement’ in which the company will reimburse me. 

In the meantime, I have heard that the NHS pension scheme is now allowing retired nurses who have returned to work to start paying back in the 2015 pension scheme. I have yet to hear from the NHS about it (apparently will be running from April 2023). 

So I suppose my question is- what do I do? I know I can’t have both but at the moment I don’t know what percentage the NHS one will be paying/taking out of my salary?
And if I do decide to go with the NHS one, can I ask my manager for the amount they should have put in up until now with NEST.
I only have until the end of March to opt out of NEST 🤔

mark55man

So I'm sorry your post hasn't had a lot of comment.  In general the advice would be go for the NHS pension as it is superior to NEST as you get guaranteed return.

It's not quite clear how long you have been in limbo maybe you could clarify

kaMelo

Going forward, joining the 2015 NHS pension scheme from April 2023 is a no brainer compared to NEST. 

For the two and a half years previously assuming you met the critera, (over 22 years old, work in the UK, earn over £10,000) the default option should have been to enrol you. Your manager would have had to ask whether you wanted to opt OUT.
It depends what remedy you want to happen, you could always make it official and complain, wanting to be put back into the position you would otherwise have been and taking it to the pensions ombudsman if necessary but that will not be a quick process.

cam269

Thank you both for your replies.
I also think joining the 2015 scheme will be better than NEST but because I haven’t heard anything from the NHS I wonder if it will be up & running any time soon?

I’ve ‘lost’ two & half years of not paying in into a pension scheme (NEST) that I didn’t even know I could have!!

I don’t want to fall out with my manager, we have a good relationship & she has held her hands up to not enrolling me so I wonder if I should just ask her to pay for the last 2.5 years as my employer?

Bimbly

cam269 said:

I don’t want to fall out with my manager, we have a good relationship & she has held her hands up to not enrolling me so I wonder if I should just ask her to pay for the last 2.5 years as my employer?

My understanding would be, it would have been illegal not to have auto-enrolled you in the scheme. Also, it should be payroll who were in charge of this, not your manager. It sounds very odd. You should get to the bottom of it. I'd contact the payroll dept and find out what occurred.

Meanwhile, you should get your 2.5 years missed pension contributions paid, as you would have missed out on tax relief and employer contributions. If this means adding them into a NEST scheme, then so be it.

Then you should join the NHS 2015 scheme (and stop NEST contributions). 

cam269

Thank you. 

My manager is the practice manager of the GP surgery where I work and she also does my payroll so she’s in charge of the whole thing! But I think I will approach her as she has held her hands up & admitted it was her error. If she agrees to pay, can I just add it to my 2015 scheme when it gets up & running? I’d rather have everything in one place.

JoeCrystal

That is appalling, especially since she should be fully aware of her role as an employer. However, can GP nurses join the NHS pension schemes, or can you contribute?

I think GPs would much rather avoid paying the extraordinary amount of an employer's contributions to the NHS pension scheme. Did your employer even say you will be able to join the NHS scheme or just purely NEST system? If the latter, what is the contribution the employer pays? Hopefully not the minimum auto-enrollment percentage?!

It would help to remember that NEST and the NHS pension scheme are very different. The former is a DC pension scheme, and the latter is a DB pension scheme. 

SacredStephan

It would be helpful if you could confirm that you took benefits from the 1995 NHS pension scheme.

Once you have retired from this scheme you cannot currently rejoin any NHS pension scheme, although that may change later this year.

Your manager has made a big mistake by failing to enroll you.

cam269

Thanks,
I receive my pension from the 1995 scheme - is this what you mean by benefits? I don’t get any other benefits.

My manager informed me about the 2015 scheme a week after telling me about NEST & said it would be a better scheme as the contributions from both of us is higher than NEST but as of yet it isn’t up & running, it’s still in debate by the Gov but looking online looks like it will be available from April.

Not sure what DC & DB pension scheme is - I’ll have to look that up!

So, going forward, do I keep NEST open until the 2015 scheme is available, then can shut it down?

And I ask her to pay the 2.5 years owed to me  but can I put that sum into the 2015 scheme as a lump deposit & also pay my contributions which I should have done from the start!?

The whole thing is disorganised - she enrolled me onto NEST, so I had to register & then tells me there’s something better (2015) & now have to cancel that!

Stubod

.At present if you have been in the 1995 scheme and have started to take it you cannot rejoin the NHS pension scheme, but I assume you could join NEST?

GrubbyGirl_2

cam269 said:

Thanks,
I receive my pension from the 1995 scheme - is this what you mean by benefits? I don’t get any other benefits.

My manager informed me about the 2015 scheme a week after telling me about NEST & said it would be a better scheme as the contributions from both of us is higher than NEST but as of yet it isn’t up & running, it’s still in debate by the Gov but looking online looks like it will be available from April.

Not sure what DC & DB pension scheme is - I’ll have to look that up!

So, going forward, do I keep NEST open until the 2015 scheme is available, then can shut it down?

And I ask her to pay the 2.5 years owed to me  but can I put that sum into the 2015 scheme as a lump deposit & also pay my contributions which I should have done from the start!?

The whole thing is disorganised - she enrolled me onto NEST, so I had to register & then tells me there’s something better (2015) & now have to cancel that!

Will you not have to pay your contributions too if you want her to do that?  Would you be prepared to do that?