Civil Service DB Pension

LilSmiler

michaels said:

LilSmiler said:

Is there a calculator somewhere that anyone knows of, that I could use to calc the projected payment amounts at  different retirement ages: 60, 65, SPA etc..? I'm currently 50

many thanks in advance

The 2.32% is the key bit - earn 50k this year and you have built up 50k x 2.32% = £1160 pension per year from state pension age (between 67 and 68 for a 50 year old?).  The £1160 is index linked so will always be worth the same as it is in todays money terms.

The same will happen every year you work for the civil service, so if you do 17 years to retirement age you will have accrued a pension of 17 x 1,160 = £19,720 per year.

Perfectly explained, thanks @michaels

helsbels92

Late to the party but just to say the retirement modeller on the CSPS website is crap at taking into account any added pension or EPA etc. I use this unofficial calculator as I find it's the best. around. https://civilservicepensioncalculator.co.uk/

michaels

helsbels92 said:

Late to the party but just to say the retirement modeller on the CSPS website is crap at taking into account any added pension or EPA etc. I use this unofficial calculator as I find it's the best. around. https://civilservicepensioncalculator.co.uk/

This would appear to use the old reduction factors so there may be other stuff that is out of date too so be careful.

katejo

LilSmiler said:

Hi all,

I've applied for a new role within the Civil Service and just wanted to double check on the DB pension contribution amounts...

I've seen the contribution % here: 

https://www.civilservicepensionscheme.org.uk/your-pension/managing-your-pension/contribution-rates/ Are these rates PA..? So for example a £50k role will have a yearly contribution of £14,485 ? That would seem to me as though it were a DC pension.. I always understood a DB pension to be as a % of your final salary for life..?

My SAUL pension scheme switched to career average in about 2012. I am now wondering whether the option to reduce to 4 or 3 days a week now does reflect 1 advantage of career average? If I were still on final salary, it would surely reduce my pension income quite a bit? 

ewaste

katejo said:

My SAUL pension scheme switched to career average in about 2012. I am now wondering whether the option to reduce to 4 or 3 days a week now does reflect 1 advantage of career average? If I were still on final salary, it would surely reduce my pension income quite a bit? 

That is a common misconception regarding part-time work and final salary schemes. Generally for the vast majority of schemes I’ve come across the full time equivalent salary is used and accrual slows. For example if working 0.5 FTW then 2 calendar years of service would then be needed to accrue 1 year of pensionable service.

The main advantages to materialise from the widespread use of Career Average Revalued Earnings (CARE) schemes related to the better accrual rates, e.g. the civil service went from 1/60th to 1/43rd, and the Revalued Earnings mechanic. Generally, pay in the UK and especially the public sector has lagged behind inflation for large periods of recent history therefore previous accrual being revalued by at least CPI inflation has often outstripped pay rises. The only was a final salary scheme would be of benefit is for someone seeing consistent real terms increases in pay as they moved up and up the career ladder, many schemes now include a pay cap to limit this anyway