Worked for the NHS for 4 years and left at 22, can I withdraw my pension with them early?

[lala123455]

Worked for NHS for 4 years left at 22, I'm now 31. Am I able to take the money from my pension pot? If so, how would I go about doing this? Thanks

Hi OP, have you checked the NHS Pensions website to see if they can resolve your query? https://www.nhsbsa.nhs.uk/member-hub/contact-nhs-pensions-members.

I worked for them for a year and they sent me a cheque without me asking, said they didn't want the hassle of dealing with it years down the line (paraphrasing obviously)

I didn't realise they could do that!

I believe you can only have a refund of your nhs pension contributions if you were a member for less than 2 years.

You can consolidate all your pensions into one pot and it's relatively easy to do. I had two and consolidated them into one - much easier to manage.

https://www.nhsbsa.nhs.uk/sites/default/files/2017-03/Member%20Transfer%20Out%20factsheet%2020150317%20%28V7%29.pdf

Before you transfer just look at the projected value. NHS pensions are index linked and have seen a very generous return over the last 3 yrs as a result of the high rate of inflation. Longterm they will all perform better than a private pension.
I retired last year and my pension is well over 10K more than it was projected 10yrs ago despite being part time over that period. Three yrs of significant increases have benefitted NHS pensions. As a result my income is now the same as it was when I was working, but obviously outgoings are much lower. I still work one day a week, DS is at uni and still needs funding, but we are very comfortable thanks to my NHS pension.
The advise we were given 40yrs ago was to cling on to your NHS pension, it was the carrot they used to draw medical professionals into the NHS and I suspect they will continue to do so.