To come out of the nhs pension scheme temporarily?

[kullo]

I am struggling so much with money, I feel like I'm drowning. I've built up quite a bit on credit cards just trying to make ends meet and now I'm struggling each month with all the repayments I have.

I never miss payments, but every month I don't have enough money to cover everything and end up having to use my overdraft. Then the cycle starts all over again.

I've looked at different ways out of this and the only thing I can see helping me at the moment is to come out of the nhs pension scheme for 2 or 3 years. I've been in it for over 10 years and would opt back in as soon as possible. I am 38.

I know nothing about pensions. Does anyone have experience of this?

Some people say it's the worst thing I could ever do, and others say retirement age will keep going up and I may be dead before I retire anyway.

Don't do it. Honestly.

I wouldn’t dream of it, it will have a massive impact on your standard of living in retirement. Almost nobody is saving enough for repent and you will live to regret this.

I wouldn't bank on being able to opt back in. It's not a good plan.

Are there any grants you could access? Have you read any of the debt help guidance on line ? Or listened to some personal finance podcasts like Meaningful Money? I don't know about the NHS pension, but sacrificing the value of your pension which you will be living off when retired sounds like a bad idea. Good luck.

dont mess with pension, it may seem to be a short term win but probably not worth it. From what I hear NHS pensions pretty good too. 2-3 years out of it will cost you thousands in the long term.
spreasheets your expenses, contact one of the agencies/websites that can help you to see where to cut costs . The fact you’re aware and acknowledging it’s a problem is great as you can take steps to find a way out

Speak to the NHS pensions advisor at your trust… you could for example reduce your contribution right down for a bit. You pay less tax with the pension so you need to know exactly how much better of you’d be versus the impact