to be unable to work out NHS pension....

[badwithnumbers]

I'm looking for band 5 roles (AHP) and am trying to get an idea of pension contributions (both from employer and employee). I have looked online but it's confusing me as there seem to be different schemes.

Basically, I have seen a job with a private healthcare company and total monthly pension amount is 8% (3% from employer) and this sounds quite bad!

I've only got another 20 years of working so need to start thinking about being financially secure so I want to focus on my pension.

Could anyone tell me if this private pension is worse than the NHS one? Thanks

Assuming you would be eligible to join the standard NHS defined benefit scheme, then it's hard to compare the two schemes as they're very different.

The private healthcare company has a defined contribution scheme. Both you and the company pay a fixed contribution % into your own fund. The amount of pension this fund will provide will depend on various factors like investment returns, inflation, life exoectancy and so the risks e.g. poor investment returns sit with you. A 3% contribution rate from the employer is low.

The standard NHS pension scheme is defined benefit. The pension you receive is based on your salary during your working life and the service you complete, so it is largely known in advance. Your contribution will be fixed but the employer (so ultimately taxes) covers the remaining cost. So the risks sit with the employer which is a big advantage of these types of schemes.

It's therefore hard to compare. However, to try to replicate the level of pension in the NHS scheme, much higher contributions than 8% would be needed. Your contribution would be higher than 5% in the NHS scheme. However, employer contributions of 20-30% in addition to yours might be needed to try to replicate the NHS pension. So I'd say the NHS pension is almost certainly significantly better than the private one, assuming you are eligible for the standard pension scheme.

The NHS pension is substantially better than a private sector one. It's guaranteed and doesn't depend on stock market etc and the employer contributions are much higher.

The private healthcare pension you’ve listed is the minimum legal requirement. You are usually able to opt to contribute more than 5% (and I assume would be paying more than 5% in the NHS role), but it doesn’t sound like they’ll increase their contributions.

As another poster has said. They work differently.

You’ll be able to get your contribution for NHS, but not the employer one. NHS standard scheme - you accrue a certain amount of pension pay each year you work that you and your employer contribute towards funding. Private - you and your employer put money into a pot with your name on, that then sits on some kind of investment fund for you do to something with when you retire.

contributions you make dont actually equal the final pension, its 1/54 of your earnings each year you contribute make up the final amount, you can still get a lump sum but im not certain on %'s or how it works. My contributions on band 5 working mostly unsociable hours are 9.8%, this month that is £306, its a lot, but the NHS pension scheme works out better than a private pension