To come out of my nhs pension

31 replies

imloosingthisgsme · 05/02/2023 17:45

I'm struggling with money at the minute, with the energy prices going up, cost of living etc.
i pay over £200 a month NHS pension and I am thinking of coming out of it for a couple of months. Am I being ridiculous?

OP posts:

PugInTheHouse · 05/02/2023 19:04

USaYwHatNow · 05/02/2023 18:59

Hey OP, NHS Midwife here. I have taken a break from my pension whilst on mat leave. I meticulously planned our budget and repeatedly asked payroll for a projection of my pay over the 12 months (decided to split my wages across the whole year). They cocked up and didn't stipulate that the projection was gross not net, so I was £300 a month down than what I budgeted for which we couldn't afford not to have.

I decided therefore to forgo my pension for a year to recover that money and will go back into the scheme when I go back in September.

I made this decision on the basis that I have life/critical illness insurance, and in the event of my death whilst on mat leave, my life insurance would pay out, negating the need for the life assurance scheme that comes with the pension (3x annual salary paid to my husband).

Ultimately, its up to you, but I know of a couple of girls at work who have done the same whilst on mat leave/to clear debts etc for a short period of time.

Unfortunately they didn't cock up, they can't project your net pay as it is based on many variables. Payroll dept would only ever give you a projection of your gross pay. If they told you it was net pay and gave you the gross figure then they cocked up of course.

If you genuinely can't afford basic bills then yes come out of the scheme for a while but if its for treating yourself then definitely not. Stopping pension should be your last resort IMO, esp an NHS one.

USaYwHatNow · 05/02/2023 19:12

@PugInTheHouse Yes. They cocked up. I'm the Queen of giving people the benefit of the doubt, but sadly in my case they made a rather frustrating error.

PugInTheHouse · 05/02/2023 19:15

USaYwHatNow · 05/02/2023 19:12

@PugInTheHouse Yes. They cocked up. I'm the Queen of giving people the benefit of the doubt, but sadly in my case they made a rather frustrating error.

Thats why I said if they specifically told you it was net then they cocked up but you just said they didn't stipulate it was gross. If they didn't say anything it should always be assumed it was gross. It is extremely frustrating if they have made an error that big as obv £300 is huge when on maternity leave and I imagine most people don't have that much leeway.

user1471556818 · 05/02/2023 19:26

Please please don't even if you have to join the nurse bank and do a night shift a month as an extra source of income to help you over this period
Get on the Martin Lewis Web site as well loads of great tips on how to save money
The pension is one of the best things about working in the NHS

Onetoffeetin · 14/04/2023 21:38

I didn't think you could do this? Don't you have to opt out within 2 years of joining? My knowledge might be a bit out of date though as I've been paying in for 24 years....

BinturongsSmellOfPopcorn · 14/04/2023 21:50

No, you can opt out at any time. What you can't do (except in the first 2 years) is withdraw the payments you've made.

If you opt out your money stays in until pension age, you just stop adding more.

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