Last possible date of retirement to avoid USS ERF hikes?

NickBFS

I am intending to make use of the small window of opportunity opened up by the delay in implementation of the USS ERF hikes to retire in September. AIUI, the new ERFs are supposed to kick in on October 1st.
Does that mean that I must be already retired before that to avoid them (i.e. be already retired by September 30th) or would it be OK if my retirement started on the first day of October?
In other words, will I be OK if my last day of employment is September 30th or should I already be retired by then (in which case this would probably mean a last day of employment  on 27th September, given that 30th September is a Monday and we do not normally work (at least not officially!) at the weekend?

MPLMPL

I keep meaning to give USS a call to find this out as I'm doing the same. Have a retirement quote for 30th September and want to make sure I hand in my notice correctly. Don't want to give my notice for 30th to discover that the calculation must be done the following day. If I remember to phone them tomorrow, I'll update you.

BikingBud

Best of luck!

Are you aware that they also changed commutation factors on 1 Apr 24?

22 January at 7:41PM

NickBFS

Yes. I had originally planned to commute part of my pension and keep more of my IB intact but I had already reviewed that in light of the changes and decided to go for max lump sum with no commutation at all.

To be honest, if I calculated it right, even the ERF changes would not be catastrophic for me. I would need about six months additional employment to make up what I would lose. Not the end of the world but better if I can avoid it, obviously. 

MPLMPL

I've just made the phonecall. Benefits are calculated on your last working day, according to the person I spoke to. They said I could put 30th September as my last working day in my notice letter. You may wish to get this in writing by asking it via the online contact form, rather than taking it as gospel from some random on the internet!
As I will have at least 10 days leave to use, I'm toying with bringing it forward by one or two weeks. This would allow me to finish on the  30th August or 6th September, in the hope of a few weeks of half decent weather before the nights draw in and the temperature drops. Just not keen on losing two weeks salary though. Decisions, decisions.

Simes122

MPLMPL said:

I've just made the phonecall. Benefits are calculated on your last working day, according to the person I spoke to. They said I could put 30th September as my last working day in my notice letter. You may wish to get this in writing by asking it via the online contact form, rather than taking it as gospel from some random on the internet!
As I will have at least 10 days leave to use, I'm toying with bringing it forward by one or two weeks. This would allow me to finish on the  30th August or 6th September, in the hope of a few weeks of half decent weather before the nights draw in and the temperature drops. Just not keen on losing two weeks salary though. Decisions, decisions.

I went through the angst of losing salary when I stopped.  Perspective.  You’ll be losing more than two weeks salary when you stop work - that’s retirement.  You’ll be gaining two weeks of not work and income free from wage slavery.  Don’t sweat it - two weeks or more extra is time on your side of the egg timer of life! Do a retirement trip and use that bonus time as best you can. 

I’m saying this now with the benefit of hindsight sat in a chemo treatment chair having my first cycle of chemo, for cancer diagnosed during my last ‘just 6 months more of work and income” before early retirement.  If you can afford it and have structured your finances well, 2 weeks less will be neither here nor there.  Cheers, S

NickBFS

Sorry to hear about your diagnosis, Simes122. But hopefully this is a bad patch to go through until treatment is completed and you will be as good as new.

I fully get what you mean, though. I was agonising about leaving next year or the year after until various things led me to rethink. OK, I'll get marginally less money but I can live with that and other things matter more.

MPLMPL

Simes122 said:

MPLMPL said:

I've just made the phonecall. Benefits are calculated on your last working day, according to the person I spoke to. They said I could put 30th September as my last working day in my notice letter. You may wish to get this in writing by asking it via the online contact form, rather than taking it as gospel from some random on the internet!
As I will have at least 10 days leave to use, I'm toying with bringing it forward by one or two weeks. This would allow me to finish on the  30th August or 6th September, in the hope of a few weeks of half decent weather before the nights draw in and the temperature drops. Just not keen on losing two weeks salary though. Decisions, decisions.

I went through the angst of losing salary when I stopped.  Perspective.  You’ll be losing more than two weeks salary when you stop work - that’s retirement.  You’ll be gaining two weeks of not work and income free from wage slavery.  Don’t sweat it - two weeks or more extra is time on your side of the egg timer of life! Do a retirement trip and use that bonus time as best you can. 

I’m saying this now with the benefit of hindsight sat in a chemo treatment chair having my first cycle of chemo, for cancer diagnosed during my last ‘just 6 months more of work and income” before early retirement.  If you can afford it and have structured your finances well, 2 weeks less will be neither here nor there.  Cheers, S

Sorry to hear your news, I hope the treatment goes well.
I should take my own advice, people can't get their head around me retiring at 55, my standard response has been that you can't buy time. In the end, it makes little difference to my takehome as I'm salary sacrificing to minimum wage, so the pension that will be paid for those weeks almost makes up for it, it's just the chunk going into the IB pension that was tempting me to leave it to the 30th Sept. It's the short arms and deep pockets Yorkshireman in me.
Inspired by you post, I've probably just convinced myself to hand in my notice for the 10th September, take my remaining 11 days annual leave and finish on the 23rd August. I've just worked out that this is a very pleasing 100 days away.

Simes122

Hi @NickBFS and @MPLMPL

thanks - a rocky road ahead but there is hope after a year out effectively.   So can’t agree more - you just don’t know what’s around the corner but you know when you can stop work with a lot more certainty.  I bet like me and being MSEers you’ll both be a lot better positioned than most and probably like me, overprovisioned.  But as you say you can’t buy time.  You don’t get to flip the egg timer of life of unspecified duration!  Go for it - you’ll have plenty!  If you don’t and you have to pick up a bit of work here and there, you can do that too.