NHS 1995 Pension doesn't grow after 60

crv1963

Marcon said:

crv1963 said:

Lowtrawler said:

My wife has just claimed her NHS 1995 pension at age 60 on R&R. For the vast majority of NHS workers reaching 60, it would be crazy not to do this.

It is indicative of a wider problem with the NHS pension scheme. Morally, I believe the NHS and the Unions have a responsibility to better educate and explain pensions.

I agree Lowtrawler, many would rather talk about the Weather than their pension! Several of my colleagues were going to opt out "for a few years while I pay this or that,,,". I soon put them right on what they were actually going to lose, luckily they haven't opted out now. I had to explain in detail to one of our Consultants exactly what he was getting in terms of employer contributions before he got his head around it all.

I wonder exactly what explanation you gave...? Question is a genuinely interested one.

I explained death in service and survivor pension- him 40s stressful occupation, wife and three under 5 children. He hadn't considered that part of the pension and also he didn't realise that the NHS Employer paid 23% into it. We discussed that although he doesn't have Mental Health Officer status like some of his colleagues he is still getting a better pension than putting it into a SIPP. He was attracted to the idea of having his own "pot" he could see and probably worry about when it falls in value. I explained buying a small holding may be attractive as an idea but it wouldn't provide a pension that goes up with inflation.

LightFlare

I have to say - ignorance is no excuse

People need to start taking responsibility for their own lives ,decisions and finances and not rely on others to tell them what to do.

I am getting vibes of WASPI in all this

The Info is 100% there and so are people to ask and advise.

I will be taking my pension next year at 56 mainly my due to health ( not severe enough for early retirement grounds) and have t found it difficult to navigate at all

Just as an aside - when claiming you NHS pension you will need to provide certified copies of marriage and birth certificates and allow a Minimum of 3 months for processing (more is preferred)

These can be ordered via the GRO website and cost ~£14 each and take 1-3 weeks depending on if you can provide further info 

crv1963

LightFlare said:

I have to say - ignorance is no excuse

People need to start taking responsibility for their own lives ,decisions and finances and not rely on others to tell them what to do.

I am getting vibes of WASPI in all this

The Info is 100% there and so are people to ask and advise.

I will be taking my pension next year at 56 mainly my due to health ( not severe enough for early retirement grounds) and have t found it difficult to navigate at all

Just as an aside - when claiming you NHS pension you will need to provide certified copies of marriage and birth certificates and allow a Minimum of 3 months for processing (more is preferred)

These can be ordered via the GRO website and cost ~£14 each and take 1-3 weeks depending on if you can provide further info 

I do agree but for some reason and not just NHS staff, pensions and retirement planning turns people cold, I don't know if it's fear of old age or fear of getting it wrong and living in poverty in retirement or seeking gratification today and to hell with tomorrow!

I wish you well with your retirement, are you going to do retire and return or call it a day? I applied November with aim of retiring April and return May, had it all planned and part time hours lined up. Then came Covid and I ended up full time lol I still am though not doing shift work now. My application and getting my pension was very smooth and seamless, although I have heard of some who have problems with it but I suspect that they are in the minority.

Sarahspangles

crv1963 said:

I do agree but for some reason and not just NHS staff, pensions and retirement planning turns people cold, I don't know if it's fear of old age or fear of getting it wrong and living in poverty in retirement or seeking gratification today and to hell with tomorrow!

And that’s before you suggest they make a will….

german_keeper

There is nothing consistent about how the schemes treat 'late retirement' - eg the Civil Service Classic scheme has an NRD of 60 and if the pension isn't claimed, there is no late retirement factor, it gets normal inflationary increases until claimed, and when it is claimed payments are backdated to age 60, with the option to have the backdated element taxed as a lump sum in the year of receipt, or allocated to the individual tax years when the member's entitlement to the pension arose.

That's interesting, are you sure that's correct with regards backdated payments. Me and colleagues who took an interest in their pension always worked on the basis that if you didn't retire at 60 then you had to at least take partial retirement because if you didn't you were basically chucking your Classic pension in the bin. The abatement issue mentioned by D & C also seems to back this up.

 I think I did read something on this forum a while back about the arrears being payable back to 60 on late claiming of a deferred pension but I've never heard that about a "live" pension if taken after 60.

Flugelhorn

LightFlare said:

I have to say - ignorance is no excuse

People need to start taking responsibility for their own lives ,decisions and finances and not rely on others to tell them what to do.

I am getting vibes of WASPI in all this

The Info is 100% there and so are people to ask and advise.

I will be taking my pension next year at 56 mainly my due to health ( not severe enough for early retirement grounds) and have t found it difficult to navigate at all

Just as an aside - when claiming you NHS pension you will need to provide certified copies of marriage and birth certificates and allow a Minimum of 3 months for processing (more is preferred)

These can be ordered via the GRO website and cost ~£14 each and take 1-3 weeks depending on if you can provide further info 

yes we were fortunate to both have NHS pensions so were able to use the marriage cert twice - not sure that we needed birth certs though?? 

arthur_fowler

LightFlare said:

I have to say - ignorance is no excuse

People need to start taking responsibility for their own lives ,decisions and finances and not rely on others to tell them what to do.

I am getting vibes of WASPI in all this

The Info is 100% there and so are people to ask and advise.
 

I don't disagree, however the NHS schemes are complex and in my opinion very difficult to navigate what a member's entitlement is. And as we often see on these forums, the help available is at best patchy and at worst inaccurate. 

I am pretty savvy with pensions and having spent hours and hours trying to work out what my wife's pension will be, I have low confidence that I have worked it out correctly. 

Finding out that the 1995 section normal retirement date is 60 was easy though.

LightFlare

crv1963 said:

LightFlare said:

I have to say - ignorance is no excuse

People need to start taking responsibility for their own lives ,decisions and finances and not rely on others to tell them what to do.

I am getting vibes of WASPI in all this

The Info is 100% there and so are people to ask and advise.

I will be taking my pension next year at 56 mainly my due to health ( not severe enough for early retirement grounds) and have t found it difficult to navigate at all

Just as an aside - when claiming you NHS pension you will need to provide certified copies of marriage and birth certificates and allow a Minimum of 3 months for processing (more is preferred)

These can be ordered via the GRO website and cost ~£14 each and take 1-3 weeks depending on if you can provide further info 

I do agree but for some reason and not just NHS staff, pensions and retirement planning turns people cold, I don't know if it's fear of old age or fear of getting it wrong and living in poverty in retirement or seeking gratification today and to hell with tomorrow!

I wish you well with your retirement, are you going to do retire and return or call it a day? I applied November with aim of retiring April and return May, had it all planned and part time hours lined up. Then came Covid and I ended up full time lol I still am though not doing shift work now. My application and getting my pension was very smooth and seamless, although I have heard of some who have problems with it but I suspect that they are in the minority.

Hopefully I can get my health issues sorted in the next few months.

I don’t want to not work - just I cant continue to do what I currently do (mentally and physically)
I still love the field/work even after 35 years doing it, but the job has changed too much for me to find an internal compromise.

Taking my pension so early does mean my finances will be a lot tighter - but I will def be looking for a part time job 2 or 3 days a week.
With 35 years (ish) service, I will end up with approx 1/3 my current take home and a lump sum approx 1 years wage — thanks to McCloud 😀
If 2015-2022 had remained in the 2015 section then my finances would t have been quite as good and/or I would have had to wait a couple of years longer

Moonwolf

arthur_fowler said:

LightFlare said:

I have to say - ignorance is no excuse

People need to start taking responsibility for their own lives ,decisions and finances and not rely on others to tell them what to do.

I am getting vibes of WASPI in all this

The Info is 100% there and so are people to ask and advise.
 

I don't disagree, however the NHS schemes are complex and in my opinion very difficult to navigate what a member's entitlement is. And as we often see on these forums, the help available is at best patchy and at worst inaccurate. 

I am pretty savvy with pensions and having spent hours and hours trying to work out what my wife's pension will be, I have low confidence that I have worked it out correctly. 

Finding out that the 1995 section normal retirement date is 60 was easy though.

I think one of the big things is the changes.  It is very easy to say that the information is out there and certainly anyone who reads these forums should be aware.

However, for example, many people won't have retired because they have heard about abatement but they don't know the word, just the concept that they will lose pension if they earn too much. 

If I was specifically looking for abatement on the website I could find the information that for the NHS scheme abatement was removed last April except for ill health and early redundancy; but if I had already decided not to retire because I had heard about it, what would prompt me to check for changes and if the technical word "abatement" just hadn't stuck, what would I look for?

LightFlare

I would disagree and suggest that the changes to retire and return have been exceptionally publicised 

Maybe it is just me that’s the exception to the rule - but I found the info out there and easy to understand/navigate

I think partially that people have gotten too used to having someone else do things for them that they forget how to self manage their lives and finances