NHS pensions explain to a stupid person!

[curlywurl]

Please can anyone talk to me about 1995 section, 2015 section and my added years contract? I am 40 and still don't understand what I will get and when. The total rewards statement and website is not helping me understand

Yes, that's what you would get per year (but from state pension age you will also get state pension every month). And if you still work more years between now and retirement your benefits will increase. I think your extra years are not showing on your statement.

I have worked 20 years in NHS, on a HCP salary, not all full time, and my total rewards statement says I will get £7000 a year on retirement.

Yes they'll be lots of staff on zimmer frames trying to give out zimmers to patients! And no jobs for younger people because we're all still working to build our pensions!

One thing I can’t figure out...
In the 2015 scheme what do I get 1/54th of each year?

Is it 1/54th of the average of one single years salary, or 1/54th of all of my contributions?

It’s a 54th of your pensionable salary for that year (pensionable salary is the amount of salary that you paid pension contributions on so it will exclude things like expenses)

sorry Chessie I'm an idiot and i still don't understand - (i get the pensionable salary bit)

So for example theoretically if i earn ￡54,000 pensionable salary a year on average (for ease of numbers) for 30 years, when i have my pension, do i get ￡1000 per year which would be the percentage of 1 year, or do i get 1/54th of my total pot?

i think i even got those numbers wrong but hopefully someone knows what i mean

I'd definitely contact your Trust pension team. Ours are brilliant and you can sit down with them and they will talk you through everything.

I have had a very different experience of NHS Pensions and had to raise a formal complaint against them. The errors they made would have made around £7000 a year difference to my pension, but they wouldnt listen and closed my case. Eventually they agreed they were in the wrong and I had a letter of apology. They have also wrongly calculated my projected pension - twice. So I'd really recommend people getting their heads round their own pensions if possible.

In the 2015 scheme, for each year you work, as I understand it (am in the 1995 scheme) you will get 1/54th of that year's pensionable earnings. Eg if you earn £54K in year 1, that year's chunk will be £1k. That £1k sits in a pot, with a bit added for inflation etc each year - it's 1.5% plus another inflation related amount. Then, each year you keep adding another 1/54th pot (and again, each pot has a bit extra added each April). At the end, say you end up with 10/54ths plus the small%age added on each April. that is your annual pension at retirement age. Here's a really useful guide, if you look at page 6, that explains it much better.

30,000 a year farmbelle, 1000 for each year of service

BACKSEATONTHEBUS any tips for checking your pension is correct? For mortgages I can always use a mortgage calculator to check figures. It doesn't seem so easy with a pension. Especially with maternity leaves and part time working in the mix it's so complicated to work out if the figures they give you are right.

I'd speak to your in trust pension team and get them to go through your total rewards statement with you. Our team hold drop in sessions, or you can book an appointment with them. Definitely a good starting point.

Hi, I am in the same position. I asked the pensions department to send me details as I had a career break and was not told that I could continue paying into my pension so I am looking at paying that now. They sent me info with about 20 different examples of how much pension I get in the different schemes. Really really confusing. I contacted the Hospital pension department and sat down with an actual person ( who unfortunately was as confused as I was). She has now taken the paperwork and will make another appointment when she has made sense of it.
My advice is to get an appointment with one of your hospital pension people who will go through it with you. Also you are only able to access your pension forecast in certain months , It's on ESR for a few months only ( I think March to Sept but don't quote me!) Good luck.