NHS Pension - finding out what it will pay - nightmare

arthur_fowler

My wife will be 60 in February next year. She worked for NHS part time from 2001 to April 2025 with a one-year break. During much of this time she made AVCs (extra years).
I've been trying to establish what she is entitled to from next Feb and what the best option from a McCloud point of view is. 

We submitted a request at the start of August asking for the full details of the options available.

Mrs F got an email from NHS Subject Matter Expert last week saying they have revised their information as she stopped paying AVCs in 2021 (correct). I guessed they did this as part of responding to our request for a statement. We have today received the "NHS Pension Scheme Statement" in the post (that we requested two months ago). It is hopeless. Nothing about McCloud, different figures from the latest version of the online statement, blank pages, dreadfully laid out.

A copy of her statement that I downloaded from the website from Sept 2024 for 1995 section said:
Pay £32,240
Updated to 21/10/2021
Pension £5,970
Lump Sum £17,910
Adult Dependant Pension £2,985

Paper statement received today for 1995 section says
Pay £25,608 (why would this have changed?)
Benefits at 21/10/2021 (This date is 4 years ago? I guess anything after this is 2015 scheme)
Pension £4,698 (gone down a lot)
Lump Sum £14,096 (gone down a lot)
Survivor Pension £2,349

The amounts in the 2015 scheme are all too low to consider in both cases.

I guess we need to phone them, but my confidence level in getting meaningful and accurate information from them is very low.

Any ideas my lovely forumites? I have seen mention of NHS Pensions FB pages, might I find some value in asking there?

JoeCrystal

Is it possible that your wife's salary went down? 1995 section is still linked to the best of the last three years' pensionable salary. Only they can tell you what the reasons are, I am afraid. However, your wife should be able to work out her expected pension if she kept all the records anyway.

I assume she still get a Total Reward Statement (TRS) or an Annual Benefit Statement (ABS) each year? Is there anything on it that doesn't make sense, perhaps? 

arthur_fowler

JoeCrystal said:

Is it possible that your wife's salary went down? 1995 section is still linked to the best of the last three years' pensionable salary. Only they can tell you what the reasons are, I am afraid. However, your wife should be able to work out her expected pension if she kept all the records anyway.

I assume she still get a Total Reward Statement (TRS) or an Annual Benefit Statement (ABS) each year? Is there anything on it that doesn't make sense, perhaps? 

In terms of pay, her full time equivalent has not gone down in recent years, but it did go down in October 2018.

The glossary says: " The full-time equivalent pay (at last updated) used to calculate your officer benefits. This will include your final salary link if you have moved to the 2015 Scheme." I assumed that meant up to 2021 (which is the "Updated to" date.

There was an ABS on the website, but I didn't start looking at it until 2022. I have downloaded copies since then. She has never received anything printed (yes, they have the correct address).

I'm not sure what "all the records" would be. We certainly don't have all her historic payslips for the last 24 years.

firesidemaid

Was she out for under or over 1 year?

arthur_fowler

firesidemaid said:

Was she out for under or over 1 year?

Over 1 year

Lowtrawler

Most of the reduction you can see is being driven by the reduced salary. If you have salary records for the 3 year period to 2021, it should be based on the highest salary over that 3 year period on a full-time equivalent basis. ie. if your wife worked a 3 day week, she would be earning 60% of the FTE rate.

You will need to contact them and have them explain why the salary has changed.

arthur_fowler

Lowtrawler said:

Most of the reduction you can see is being driven by the reduced salary. If you have salary records for the 3 year period to 2021, it should be based on the highest salary over that 3 year period on a full-time equivalent basis. ie. if your wife worked a 3 day week, she would be earning 60% of the FTE rate.

You will need to contact them and have them explain why the salary has changed.

Thanks. Will go through our records to work out the salaries and dates and then phone them. 

Purplelady65

Re the date 21/10/21 that’s quoted for your wife’s pension benefits is that significant in any way?  Is  that when she took a 1 year break? Membership of the 2015 scheme was rolled back to 01/04/22 and you say your wife worked in the NHS until April 2025 so I would expect the benefits to be calculated for the 1995 scheme up until 31/03/22. 

arthur_fowler

Purplelady65 said:

Re the date 21/10/21 that’s quoted for your wife’s pension benefits is that significant in any way?  Is  that when she took a 1 year break? Membership of the 2015 scheme was rolled back to 01/04/22 and you say your wife worked in the NHS until April 2025 so I would expect the benefits to be calculated for the 1995 scheme up until 31/03/22. 

Yes, October 2021, she did some time as a freelance dispenser until September 2022 at which point she didn't work until April 2023 when she returned to permanent employment and NHS pension membership. Thank you.

Flugelhorn

arthur_fowler said:

Lowtrawler said:

Most of the reduction you can see is being driven by the reduced salary. If you have salary records for the 3 year period to 2021, it should be based on the highest salary over that 3 year period on a full-time equivalent basis. ie. if your wife worked a 3 day week, she would be earning 60% of the FTE rate.

You will need to contact them and have them explain why the salary has changed.

Thanks. Will go through our records to work out the salaries and dates and then phone them. 

I had a problem with WTE salary once - I was doing a sessional job for the NHS with  day rate, to calculate the salary they were supposed to divide the day rate by 7 or 8 (I think) and then work out the hourly rate and hence the annual WTE. Only they somehow managed to think I was doing a 14 hour day (have done plenty of those but just not in that job) -  and hence the WTE salary looked about half what it should be. I checked with employer how many hours it was supposed to be - called NHS pensions and much to my surprise they just amended it over the phone and the record was corrected

arthur_fowler

Lowtrawler said:

Most of the reduction you can see is being driven by the reduced salary. If you have salary records for the 3 year period to 2021, it should be based on the highest salary over that 3 year period on a full-time equivalent basis. ie. if your wife worked a 3 day week, she would be earning 60% of the FTE rate.

You will need to contact them and have them explain why the salary has changed.

Hi, digging into this. I can't find reference to the pay being based on the highest salary leading up to 2021. This link seems to be saying it will be the highest of the last 3 years leading up to retirement (i.e. up to 2026).