Does anybody pay into one? My Mrs has continuous service from 1991; I believe she has been by default a member of at least 2 different schemes. The dates may not be accurate but I believe they were called the 1995 scheme and the 2015 scheme. She was full-time from 1991 - 1999 then has been part time since. My quick q is .......... is she able to may a one-off lump sum payment to top it up, and if so is there a restriction on which of the 2 schemes she can pay to? And similarly; would she be able to make AVCs to one of the schemes (I assume to most current). Thanks in advance.
I'm interested too. I've had a letter offering me retirement when I'm 40 and my old job back on the newer scheme. I presume there would be some sought of lump sum involved. Which would come in handy in getting my own place. I need to clear the debts that Gadaffi left me in.
Have a look at this site there are a few options https://www.nhsbsa.nhs.uk/member-hub/increasing-your-pension. One thing to note is that following a court case, you have the option to extend the 1995 membership to 2022, which is likely to be beneficial in many cases. The 2015 membership would then start in 2022.
I'd be careful.with that, the old pension schemes are a lot more generous If you're in a union they may be able to offer advice..
Pension advisor can lump them into one provider. That is if you have different ones. Be careful about changing. I was ill advised to transfer my miners pension scheme 30 years ago. I got compensation from ombudsman when they checked it out. Legal n General had to pay my pension pot back into my mps and top it up with 12 k I had lost.
Good advise on transferring pensions as the NHS is up there with the best. also older funds are usually better. mine was changed in 2007 into a new fund which limited increases to 2.5%. when I checked my older fund it was 5%..I've now retired and my statements show 1972 to 2007 then 2007 to retirement and are always shown separately. we could not pay single top up payments into the main funds but could pay AVC's..
The old NHS superannuation scheme was one of the best pensions around. I had been tricked into leaving it, when I was a student nurse, and taking out a private pension. I saw a financial advisor in the Liver building shortly after qualifying and he told me I had been conned and helped me sort it out, including getting the private pension (can’t remember who it was) to compensate me. I was only in the NHS for around 9 years though. Clint Marcelle’s goal heralded the end of my time working in the NHS, but that’s another story. When I had to stop working about 7 years ago my NHS pension paid out. As well as receiving a monthly amount, which isn’t a great deal, they gave me a lump sum. I wasn’t expecting this, so it was a very welcome surprise. I’m going off topic here (like I have a tendency to!), but I think the next bit is important. By the time I stopped working I was in the financial industry, working as a corporate risk insurance intermediary. I was working with corporate clients, helping them with Group Life schemes, Group Income Protection and Group Critical Illness. When I first moved into this industry I already had a personal Income Protection policy, as the financial advisor I mentioned that I saw had sold me the benefits of such a scheme. Due to my nursing background my main role at the insurance intermediaries I worked for was helping clients deal with absence management, helping to either get the employees back to work or helping them with their Income Protection claim. I can tell you now that Income Protection is probably the most important insurance product you can have. If you are lucky enough that your company offers a group scheme, make sure to opt in, and if you have flexible benefits take it up to the maximum. In case you don’t know, it is a policy that covers a percentage of your salary in the event that you have to stop working on medical grounds. Some policies will pay out for a set time period (more and more companies have restricted the benefit to 5 years, as it brings their premium down considerably. But many still cover you to retirement age. So you would receive a monthly income until you get to 65 (or whatever the scheme deems ‘retirement age’ to be). I have a load of medical issues and had the spinal cord tumour removed in 2003, so I knew one day I would get to the point where I could no longer work. I managed to keep going for about 13 years though. But because I was a member of the Group Income Protection scheme I was able to put a claim in and now receive a monthly payment, which has kept me from having to sell the house, etc. It really is an important benefit. Way more important that a company private medical insurance scheme, which people tend to value more highly. There’s an alternative to a private medical scheme. It’s called the NHS, where you’ll receive far better care, albeit the mealtime menus aren’t as good. The alternative to an Income Protection scheme is living off Employment and Support Allowance, which isn’t enough if you have a mortgage, kids, etc. You never know when you might be struck down by a tumour or struck down by a bus, so if you are lucky enough to be working for a company that offers a benefit package, check to make sure you have opted in to the scheme. But if you aren’t in receipt of the benefit through work, get yourself off to an independent financial advisor to look into it. It really is worth it.
Just surprised you're such a callow youth, Mr D! Afraid I can only see 40 in t' rear view mirror- and 50 and 60!
