Decision on early retirement/redundancy 11 March at 6:33PM edited 11 March at 7:25PM in Pensions, annuities & retirement planning 20 replies 2.7K views

AliceBanned

Oh and one person in the team has never been promoted and is clearly not the calibre for the grade which is annoying everyone but she’s always appeared to be his favourite.

yes they are saying effectively to 3 of us ‘unless you can make promotion there’s no job’ despite blocking my promotion for a long time. No work issues worked v hard etc in a blame culture. In one meeting in front of HR this head had a go about me about one mistake - only one I made in 5 years. Total lunatics and slave drivers but they’ve done a lot to cover up and be ostentatiously nice to me since..cover up their guilt and unprofessional behaviour.

AliceBanned

It’s hard to prove constructive dismissal and I’m not sure I can handle taking them on. The directors are deluded gaslighters! I have lots of evidence though including going through 3 interviews after which HR told union and I there is no documted evidence to justify me not getting promotion and I’m one of the most experienced in the team. And the oldest and have been ostracised for no reason which was original complaint - bullying by two managers and use of recruitment process/promotion process to further demean me. I feel pretty low as you can imagine.

Silvertabby

AliceBanned said:

Dazed_and_C0nfused said:

I have only worked there for 5 years at around £45-51k for that time per annum.

I estimate pension would be £8-10k, not enough to live off but a decent amount to receive at 55

Not an expert on LGPS but this seems a bit optimistic based on a 1/49th accrual rate.

And that's before any potential reduction for taking it at 55.  

What does your latest pension statement show?

This may have been for the period to March/April 2022 so whatever that is you will be able to add around £1k for 2022:23 plus there is usually an inflation increase with CARE schemes.

Which might be significant this year.

There’s no reduction for taking it at 55 apart from payments I would have paid in to 67. Employer has to pay my pension as though I’d already reached 67. Which may not be loads but would mean I don’t have to earn as high a salary so could look for something more enjoyable and less pressure. 

Thanks I’ll take a look at latest statement when I can - visiting family at mo.

Noooo !

You are not the first person to mistakenly  assume this, and probably won't be the last - but whilst redundancy pensions are unreduced for early payment, they are not enhanced.

Your pension would just be what you had actually accrued to your date of leaving.  Based on your salary and 5 years service (and this April's 10.1% revaluation), that's going to be under £5K per year, not the amount you seem to be working on.

AliceBanned

Silvertabby said:

AliceBanned said:

Dazed_and_C0nfused said:

I have only worked there for 5 years at around £45-51k for that time per annum.

I estimate pension would be £8-10k, not enough to live off but a decent amount to receive at 55

Not an expert on LGPS but this seems a bit optimistic based on a 1/49th accrual rate.

And that's before any potential reduction for taking it at 55.  

What does your latest pension statement show?

This may have been for the period to March/April 2022 so whatever that is you will be able to add around £1k for 2022:23 plus there is usually an inflation increase with CARE schemes.

Which might be significant this year.

There’s no reduction for taking it at 55 apart from payments I would have paid in to 67. Employer has to pay my pension as though I’d already reached 67. Which may not be loads but would mean I don’t have to earn as high a salary so could look for something more enjoyable and less pressure. 

Thanks I’ll take a look at latest statement when I can - visiting family at mo.

Noooo !

You are not the first person to mistakenly  assume this, and probably won't be the last - but whilst redundancy pensions are unreduced for early payment, they are not enhanced.

Your pension would just be what you had actually accrued to your date of leaving.  Based on your salary and 5 years service (and this April's 10.1% revaluation), that's going to be under £5K per year, not the amount you seem to be working on.

Maybe my union rep has got this wrong then but I find that unlikely. He said it triggers pension strain as they made me redundant at 55.

ChocolateWombat

I think you will face the actuarial reduction which will make your yearly pension for life pretty small.

Redundancy payment and pension are 2 different things.

As far as I’m aware, the only way to avoid an actuarially  reduced public sector pension when taking it before the normal pension age, is on the grounds of ill health.

Get reading on the LGPS website about taking the pension early.

I’m not sure you’re really in a position to do this.  Could you consider applying for one of those jobs and then applying for a different job from there.  Unfortunately at 55 it can be harder to get jobs, especially in a new area and you might well need to stick in the area you’re currently working…unless you can take an entry level job…and actually get one.

An appointment with someone who is an expert on LGPS woukd be useful, as would clarity about what redundancy would involve.  You can’t really decide anything without that information.

Albermarle

AliceBanned said:

Silvertabby said:

AliceBanned said:

Dazed_and_C0nfused said:

I have only worked there for 5 years at around £45-51k for that time per annum.

I estimate pension would be £8-10k, not enough to live off but a decent amount to receive at 55

Not an expert on LGPS but this seems a bit optimistic based on a 1/49th accrual rate.

And that's before any potential reduction for taking it at 55.  

What does your latest pension statement show?

This may have been for the period to March/April 2022 so whatever that is you will be able to add around £1k for 2022:23 plus there is usually an inflation increase with CARE schemes.

Which might be significant this year.

There’s no reduction for taking it at 55 apart from payments I would have paid in to 67. Employer has to pay my pension as though I’d already reached 67. Which may not be loads but would mean I don’t have to earn as high a salary so could look for something more enjoyable and less pressure. 

Thanks I’ll take a look at latest statement when I can - visiting family at mo.

Noooo !

You are not the first person to mistakenly  assume this, and probably won't be the last - but whilst redundancy pensions are unreduced for early payment, they are not enhanced.

Your pension would just be what you had actually accrued to your date of leaving.  Based on your salary and 5 years service (and this April's 10.1% revaluation), that's going to be under £5K per year, not the amount you seem to be working on.

Maybe my union rep has got this wrong then but I find that unlikely. He said it triggers pension strain as they made me redundant at 55.

If I had to bet who was right between a union rep and the poster Silver Tabby, an ex LGPS pensions administrator and knowledgeable contributor to this forum, I know where my money would be .

At least you need to check and check again.

xylophone

Below might be of interest.



https://www.lgpsmember.org/your-pension/the-essentials/key-features/#:~:text=Redundancy and efficiency retirement,the two year vesting period.

Redundancy and efficiency retirement

If you are made redundant or retired in the interests of business efficiency when you are over age 55, you will receive immediate payment of the pension you have built up – providing you have met the two year vesting period. Any additional pension you have bought would be reduced if you are under your Normal Pension Age when you retire.

https://www.unison.org.uk/get-help/knowledge/pensions/local-government-pension-scheme/

If you’re made redundant or you retire because of service efficiency, you have a statutory right to draw an unreduced pension as long as you are at least 55 years old when your job ends.

In addition, your employer can consider:

• awarding you up to £6,250 a year additional pension;
• awarding you up to 10 years extra pensionable service;
• increasing your statutory redundancy payment;
• up to a maximum compensation of up to 104 weeks pay.

Each employing authority has a legal duty to publish its policies on these discretionary powers and keep them under. (review?)

The employer does not have to have a different policy, depending on whether a redundancy is voluntary or compulsory, but, it is possible for employers to adopt a particular policy that they only offer on a voluntary redundancy basis – if, for example, the employer wants to encourage people to come forward and apply.

Silvertabby

AliceBanned said:

Silvertabby said:

AliceBanned said:

Dazed_and_C0nfused said:

I have only worked there for 5 years at around £45-51k for that time per annum.

I estimate pension would be £8-10k, not enough to live off but a decent amount to receive at 55

Not an expert on LGPS but this seems a bit optimistic based on a 1/49th accrual rate.

And that's before any potential reduction for taking it at 55.  

What does your latest pension statement show?

This may have been for the period to March/April 2022 so whatever that is you will be able to add around £1k for 2022:23 plus there is usually an inflation increase with CARE schemes.

Which might be significant this year.

There’s no reduction for taking it at 55 apart from payments I would have paid in to 67. Employer has to pay my pension as though I’d already reached 67. Which may not be loads but would mean I don’t have to earn as high a salary so could look for something more enjoyable and less pressure. 

Thanks I’ll take a look at latest statement when I can - visiting family at mo.

Noooo !

You are not the first person to mistakenly  assume this, and probably won't be the last - but whilst redundancy pensions are unreduced for early payment, they are not enhanced.

Your pension would just be what you had actually accrued to your date of leaving.  Based on your salary and 5 years service (and this April's 10.1% revaluation), that's going to be under £5K per year, not the amount you seem to be working on.

Maybe my union rep has got this wrong then but I find that unlikely. He said it triggers pension strain as they made me redundant at 55.

The pension strain is the cost of paying the difference between reduced (for early payment) and not reduced.  But only on pension accrued to date of leaving.

Silvertabby

xylophone said:

Below might be of interest.



https://www.lgpsmember.org/your-pension/the-essentials/key-features/#:~:text=Redundancy and efficiency retirement,the two year vesting period.

Redundancy and efficiency retirement

If you are made redundant or retired in the interests of business efficiency when you are over age 55, you will receive immediate payment of the pension you have built up – providing you have met the two year vesting period. Any additional pension you have bought would be reduced if you are under your Normal Pension Age when you retire.

https://www.unison.org.uk/get-help/knowledge/pensions/local-government-pension-scheme/

If you’re made redundant or you retire because of service efficiency, you have a statutory right to draw an unreduced pension as long as you are at least 55 years old when your job ends.

In addition, your employer can consider:

• awarding you up to £6,250 a year additional pension;
• awarding you up to 10 years extra pensionable service;
• increasing your statutory redundancy payment;
• up to a maximum compensation of up to 104 weeks pay.

Each employing authority has a legal duty to publish its policies on these discretionary powers and keep them under. (review?)

The employer does not have to have a different policy, depending on whether a redundancy is voluntary or compulsory, but, it is possible for employers to adopt a particular policy that they only offer on a voluntary redundancy basis – if, for example, the employer wants to encourage people to come forward and apply.

Re the bit about the employer voluntarily paying for extra benefits, over and above the compulsory strain costs to cover the early payment reductions...........

I'm not going to say that it will never happen.  Just that, in 20 years, I never saw this happen.  Not once.

AliceBanned

Thanks everyone - just wanted to feed back that I applied for two jobs over the last few weeks and was recruited into the same team as I'm in, at the higher grade, last week. I'm so relieved but thank you for your comments as it was helpful to know all my options. So relieved to be back in full-time work and the atmosphere is improving all the time, so feeling positive about the future now, and more secure.