NHS pension help

[Ollivander84]

So I'm 33 with no pension (don't shout at once)
I'm now in the NHS one. But I have a problem from 2018 my contribution goes up to 3% which I can't afford (I've been on a pay freeze forever and I'm band 3) then 2019 up to 5%

So my choices are
Stay in it and be (v) skint and unable to pay more off debt
Exit out of it, do nothing
Exit out of it, save 1% a month - but everyone says don't save if you have debt

Help? I'm clueless about pensions!

Update - I've rung work and had a brief conversation which said "yes, pay slips are here, pension? I pay about £150/200" and that's my colleague

You know will be entitled to increments within Band 3 every year. So as your pay increases your pension contributions increase too. It pretty much means your pay remains static but your pension is boosted.

Letter

The 1% rising to 3% etc is the minimum required in an automatic enrolment scheme. That is not what the NHS Pension Scheme is. It sounds like your employer has sent you a confusing letter and you have misunderstood that the information about automatic enrolment refers to the NHS scheme, which is incorrect.

NHS pensions are 5. Something % for band 3's from the start of when you are employed. Contact HR as something is not right here

Are you not an NHS employee ?
as the NHS scheme is NOT a 1% scheme

user - I'm at the top of my band so no increments
Am stressed (not just this but loads of stuff going on) so am off to work to get my pay slip and so I've got actual figures

Ta1kin - CBA to NC! NHS (ambulance) and it states NHS pension scheme
Has it changed recently?

This is 1% but I didnt put student loan in.

My last payslip from my last month of full time had me paying £30.75 for a Band 3 on £17972 a year

The letter came signed for, has my details and my trusts correct details. Anyway, about to do the drive to work to get my payslip and hopefully shed some light
Letter is from "HR HUB, organisational development"

If you are at point 6 (the beginning) of band 3 and work full time, your income is £16986 per year. 1% of this (out of your pre tax pay) is £170 per year so about £15 per month.
This will automatically increase to the next point on the payscale so £17524 in April 2018 plus 1% for inflation. Your pension would then increase to approx £16 per month at 1% or £48 at 3%.
However, your take home pay won't drop by £48 as this money is taken before national insurance and tax so actually will be about £35.
With your increment, you will be about £10 - 15 per month worse off so you would be mad to withdraw from the scheme.
What you need is proper debt management though.

Just ignore the 1% rising to 3% stuff. That doesn’t apply to the NHS scheme.

Obviously at the top of the bands is £19852 at full time so will get inflation but not band increase. The maths aren't that much different though.

Top end of Band 3 still is 5.6%

Aha,
you work for a stand alone Ambulance trust and some of them have been allowed to shaft their employees
have a look at this example
www.secamb.nhs.uk/about_us/news/2013/nhs_pension_auto_enrolment.aspx

So they are bumping some staff into NEST rather than the NHS scheme - shitty thing to do

You need to check with HR (not colleagues) and make sure that you are in the correct scheme

as NEST is worth pish

OP top band 3 is £19852 pa or £1654 pcm. 1% of that is only £16.54!

Ta1kin - it says NHS pension scheme on the letter which is so strange. Back in a bit once I've located my payslip and checked it's not some random under payment

Yup, its very odd
you need to talk to HR when they are at work in office hours

You are not paying 1% into the NHS pension scheme. Those are the minimum autoenrolment percentages which step up over the next few years.

If you're on Band 3, you're currently contributing 5.6% of salary.

Ta1kin - that’s what I thought first of all, that the OP isn’t actually in the NHS scheme at all. However if she is paying 1% that makes her pay £12500 per month!

I think they have sent her information about automatic enrolment schemes such as NEST, but this doesn’t apply to her as she is in the NHS scheme and paying at least 5%.

Quick question - if it's 5.6%, how much do they contribute? My actual workplace website says that percentage so more likely

I was top of band 5. I was part time but my pension was £174 which is 9.3%.

The NHS employers' contribution will be reassessed every 3 or 4 years but it's currently 14.8%.

how much do they contribute
Nominally 18% ish all up
but the NHS scheme is unfunded so its all rather esoteric

the core NHS scheme is well worth being in
and if you are in the NHS scheme at another employer, that will be why you are being offered NEST at the second one
in which case (with an NHS pension somewhere) its worth opting out of NEST