Civil Service Pension Amalgamation

74LJ

I have only ever worked for organisation but it changed status a few times, I had a break for a couple of years but in essence it left me with three pensions:

1) 4 years service in classic
2) 13 years in classic
3) 10 years in alpha

I've been told that it might be possible to amalgamate the service of these in to one pension when I retire.

Does anyone know if this is the case?
If so will they take the full 27 years against my final salary?

Thanks

hugheskevi

The correct technical term for what you are describing is 'aggregation' - this link is probably the best description for your circumstances, just ignore all the tax details. All it means is that the former 4 year spell of classic service is joined with the later period of classic service, and a final salary link is applied to the now aggregated years of service. You can choose whether or not to aggregate at retirement. If you do not aggregate, your deferred classic award which was calculated when you left the scheme increases by prices until you draw it.

You will also be affected by the 2015 Remedy which will give you further choices at retirement, which will be to choose between classic or alpha benefits for the period 2015-22.

At retirement, you will receive a choice of options (and a lot of paperwork...):

1. Choose no aggregation and alpha for 2015-22: You will receive the 4 years of classic without aggregation, 13 years of classic linked to final salary, and 10+years of alpha
2. Choose aggregation and alpha for 2015-22: You will receive 4 years of classic aggregated with the 13 years of classic all linked to final salary, and 10+years of alpha
3. Choose no aggregation and classic for 2015-22: The 4 years of classic without aggregation, 20 years of classic linked to final salary, and 3+years of alpha
4. Choose aggregation and classic for 2015-22:The 4 years of classic aggregated with 20 years of classic all linked to final salary, and 3+years of alpha

In all cases, classic and alpha are separate pension schemes and you do not aggregate alpha to classic. You will receive a single monthly pension payment covering both your Civil Service alpha and classic pensions.

Johnpmc35

hugheskevi I am in a similar position to the original poster, however I am being told (by the pension helpline) that I will not be able to aggregate my two classic pensions as I did not inform them, within 12 months of re-joining the scheme.  This seems to contradict the information provided in your link, as I do not see any such stipulation mentioned?  Any advice would be appreciated, thanks.

hugheskevi

Johnpmc35 said:

hugheskevi I am in a similar position to the original poster, however I am being told (by the pension helpline) that I will not be able to aggregate my two classic pensions as I did not inform them, within 12 months of re-joining the scheme.  This seems to contradict the information provided in your link, as I do not see any such stipulation mentioned?  Any advice would be appreciated, thanks.

Phone lines are useless, get it in writing and post your question and exactly what they say.

It is also situation dependent - if you were put into alpha upon return there would have been no point in telling them within 12 months as the rejoining rules were different. But following 2015 Remedy and rollback that no longer applies.

Johnpmc35

hugheskevi said:

Johnpmc35 said:

hugheskevi I am in a similar position to the original poster, however I am being told (by the pension helpline) that I will not be able to aggregate my two classic pensions as I did not inform them, within 12 months of re-joining the scheme.  This seems to contradict the information provided in your link, as I do not see any such stipulation mentioned?  Any advice would be appreciated, thanks.

Phone lines are useless, get it in writing and post your question and exactly what they say.

It is also situation dependent - if you were put into alpha upon return there would have been no point in telling them within 12 months as the rejoining rules were different. But following 2015 Remedy and rollback that no longer applies.

They said that they will raise a query & I should hear back within 10 days.  

My info, I was in the classic scheme from 2002 to 2012, I then left the scheme for approx 15 months & was back in classic in 2013, up until I was moved into alpha.  I have now started looking at my retirement options and want to aggregate the two lots classic.  I do not remember being given the option of doing this back in 2013 but it was a long time ago so couldn't swear by it.  I can't see any mention of this time limit in EPN132, this suggests that I can make the decision at retirement age.  I would also argue that it seems unfair that a 12 month limit exists at all, as the information could easily be missed and would not be thought about again for many years later.

marky_b_2

I am in a similar situation

1991 - 2001 Classic 
Got privatised then reinstatement in 2003
2003 - 2022 Premium (Remedy)
2022 - Currently Alpha 

My current Pensionable pay is about 3 times my leaving pay in 2001 so i'd imagine aggregating might have been a good option for my 10 years of Classic

I sent an email in 2021, purely because I read about aggregating on this forum, I had never heard of this before and don't remember being offered this upon rejoining.

Date: 4 March 2021 Dear Mr M, Thank you for your recent enquiry regarding your civil service pension benefits. Upon re-joining in 2003 you will have received a pension choices form on which members are asked if they are interested in aggregating their previous service upon re-joining. If you had ticked yes,you are then provided with an aggregation option. The aggregation needed to take place in the first 12 months of re-joining the scheme therefore as you did not choose this, the deferred benefits are automatically separate to your current service. We trust that this explains the situation however, should you have any further questions please do not hesitate to contact us.
Regards, Tracy Brooks Tracy Brooks Pensions Administrator Tel: 0300 123 6666 Civil Service Pensions www.civilservicepensionscheme.org.uk
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marky_b_2

hugheskevi, are you saying there is still a chance of this happening upon retirement?

I've read the link you attached but I couldn't see anything that would clarify it for me.

Cheers

hugheskevi

marky_b_2 said:

hugheskevi, are you saying there is still a chance of this happening upon retirement?

I've read the link you attached but I couldn't see anything that would clarify it for me.

Cheers

For you, no. 

All your decisions (or perhaps more accurately, alledged decisions!) took place before 2015 Remedy, so there is no way in which Remedy influenced them.

When alpha was introduced, for those returning to alpha rules were standardised about preservation, with gaps of up to 5 years meaning deferred awards were canceled, and gaps of over 5 years resulting in a preserved pension.

For someone leaving in, say, 2013 and returning (to alpha) in 2016 there would have been no decision to make - their deferred award would have been automatically cancelled. However, had they returned to classic they would have been able to choose to aggregate or keep as a preserved award. Hence under Remedy option I expect they would be provided with a choice to aggregate or not, or be able to make a Contingent Decision argument that they would have made such a choice had it been available.

marky_b_2

Thanks for the explanation 👍