NHS pension disappointment.

[Stillearninglife]

After 33 years in the NHS I have been battling with pensions as they “lost” years and years of my pension due to “clerical errors “.
Now I have a prediction which I intend on taking at 55.

Seemingly one of the best pensions around, reading of other people’s pensions, it is utterly crap.

33 years with a lump sum of less than £80k then monthly payments of less than £800 per month is so low. All those years at B7 diligently paying in thinking I will be ok financially and it’s just dire.

I left the NHS due to conditions and pay some time ago (2 years ago) so nothing is going into the pot, so I’m taking it at 55 next year.

Anyone had similar experience with NHS pension?

55 is young to collect.

It may or may not be the best financial decision, depending on individual circumstances, but it's perfectly possible to take it at 55. And if the OP had had SCS, it would have been a very good idea to take advantage of that.

My DH worked in civil service for most of his career. He took his pension at 60. If he had worked until 67 it would have been much higher. He couldn't because of poor health so he took it at 60 and it got accuarily reduced. He took a slightly lower lump sum to add to his monthly pension. If it's left it goes up by inflation each year.

I don't know anything about NHS pensions (I'm a teacher) but fellow teachers who I'm involved with on another group have often had similar where they have gaps or missed service. They usually have missing payslips too.

They have contacted HMRC who have been able to provide them with evidence of their pay and pension contributions which has then enabled them to rectify missing service.

Is this something you could do?

It is but it was the normal age that Nurses, Midwives and Physiotherapists could retire under Special Classes rules in the 1995 section .
Have you ever heard the phrase that older men look for " a nurse with a purse"😂
It refers to wealthy older women but came about because nurses have good pensions and could retire early.

That phrase is more of a US one, so has nothing to do with NHS pensions. Or actual nurses, who even in the UK have only quite recently had good pensions - historically they were incredibly poorly paid. Even now most have 'a good pension for their salary' rather than an objectively huge one.

I thought a nurse with a purse was someone who would pay and care for her oh, not the profession.

It was in use in UK years ago when I started nursing, told to watch out for older men seeking a younger woman to look after and keep him in old age ..."Watch out Duck, he's after a nurse with a purse"
Northern nursing accommodation circa 1985 😂

I'm sure it's spread to US but a quick Google shows the origin
Purse means handbag in the US not purse as in the UK

Nursing pensions have always been good , retire age 55 on a good pension?
It's why so many put up with the conditions -the promise of a decent, guaranteed pension
Not so good now so nurses are leaving in droves

Yes it means that but the origin is nurses with good pensions

Thank you, I have already rectified the missing years thank goodness but it took ages and was an awful lot of back & forth.

Circumstances often dictate this decision though, so not sure what your point is?

@Stillearninglife If you do decide to take the pension, you might be able to add to your other more valuable pension through salary sacrifice, where you give up part of your salary to be added to your pension pre tax, increasing the value of that pension when you come to take it. This may net you more money in the long term.

Boost your pension with salary sacrifice | MoneyHelper

That seems ok to me. I got £34k and £530pm after 24 years (1995 pot). I take it you haven't been B7 for 34 years?

I retired from the nhs about three years ago. I was in an admin role. My pension, after working for 20 years,is just under £500. £800 sounds like a good pension to me!

Also I’m guessing she’s taking the maximum
lump sum! She has a choice to take a smaller lump sum and get a larger monthly payment!

please check - i think you lose SCS from finishing - to have your pension at 55 you need to be in a substantive post!

Try to get some advice, because this isn’t true. If you retire later you will get more. 55 is incredibly early to retire, I probably wont be able to retire until I’m well over 70.

Also the people saying the bigger the lump sum the smaller the monthly payment are correct. Again, it’s worth you getting some advice!

It sounds low. I retired as a top Band 6 (I mainly worked nights) in 2023 with almost 34 years and mine is more than that. I was in the 1995 section with special class status so I was able to retire at 55 without reduction. I returned on 24 hours and now contribute to the 2015 pension. You are a deferred member and have lost special class status as you need to be in a qualifying role on your 55th birthday, so your normal pension age is 60 and there will be a reduction for taking it early. That being said it is low, and seems like you still have some missing years? Remember, the 1995 pension closed in 2022, you should have a choice as to whether you want the years from 2015 to 2022 to go back into the 1995 or stay in the 2015. Do your figures include the rollback? Your pension will be calculated on your salary from when you left, uplifted for inflation.
If you are on Facebook there are a couple of good groups you can join. Pen-gage is brilliant and has loads of information for free. They also do free webinars which are really informative and you can pay for individual advice if required.

You have to be employed in a qualifying role within the NHS to maintain special class status. If not your normal pension age reverts to 60.

What is the normal retirement age of your pension scheme as if it’s 65 it will be a large reduction that is applied to retire 10years early. Have you received a projection for retiring at normal pension age so you can compare?

£800 a month is £9,600 pa, which you could easily be getting for 30 years if you start taking it at 55. This would add up to £288k. You're also getting an £80k lump sum, presumably tax-free. In total that's £368k.

In fact you'll get more than that because I imagine your pension payments will be increased by inflation each year? So it's £368k in today's money but you'll actually receive more.

Would you feel better if you thought of it like a "pot" of £368k? It's just that you don't get it all upfront.

The thing about pensions is that the last few years are the ones that really ratchet up their value.

If you take it at 55 instead of 58 that's 16 years of investment & compound interest you're loosing.

It's not a crap scheme, it's you taking the money out far earlier than is the norm that is significantly reducing your pension.

She doesn't have scs as a deferred member. You have to be employed in the NHS in a qualifying role on your 55th birthday to retain it.

If you retire at age 55 then of course the monthly amount will be less because they will be paying you potentially for 40 years (if you lived to 95) whereas if you retired at 65 then it would be for 30 years. If they are having to fund you for possibly an extra 10 years of life then the amount you get each year will be less - it is basic arithmetic. I am also NHS pensioner and would have got less than I do if I had taken it before age 65.

Not relevant for the NHS pension, which is a defined benefit scheme.