Pensions – Thinking about retirement
If you intend to retire within the next 12 months you can obtain an estimate of your retirement benefits by emailing your request to the King’s Pension team, stating;
Have you accessed your Total Reward Statement (TRS)
Once you have your estimate you may want to discuss your pension options by contacting the Pensions Contract Manager and either making a telephone or Microsoft Teams appointment.
The type of retirement that you are eligible for depends on the scheme that you are in and your age. Further information about the different types of retirement can be found here
Retirement Course – held on MS Teams
Keeping your retirement plans on track can be a challenging task. The Pre-retirement course encourages a positive and realistic approach to help you make informed choices about your retirement plans.
Sessions are run each month until December 2024 on Teams, click the link to book your place >>Affinity Connect (event-registration.co.uk)
What type of Retirement are you taking?
There are 3 options for members taking retirement
Retire & leave working in the NHS
Member resigns and terminates employment in order to access pension benefits. Leaver form must be submitted on the New HR Portal.
Once this has been received the KCH Pensions team will email the member their Retirement Form to complete and return, along with other supporting information.
Retire & Return to work (Flexible retirement)
Member resigns & terminates employment in order to access pension benefits. Member is re-employed by Trust after having at minimum of a 24 hour break, however a fortnight break is best practice.
Leaver form must be submitted on the New HR Portal. Flexible retirement pack / form must be completed and returned to Recruitment to fast track them back onto the payroll.
Partial Retirement
From 1 October 2023, member must request reduction of pensionable pay of at least 10% for a minimum period of 12 months. This can be achieved by a reduction in hours or a change of job to a lower paid role. Managers and members should follow the process in the KCH Flexible Working Policy.
In some cases where the Trust is unable to accommodate flexible working, Retire & Return (see above) may be a more suitable option.
No leaver form required. There must be a HR Change form to confirm change in contract. All members who are over 55 and over and have employers agreement can access between 20% - 100% of their pension.
Any benefits accessed prior to the scheme retirement age will be subject to an actuarially voluntary early retirement reduction. This reduction will be permanent, so all members are strongly advised to get an estimate directly from NHS Pension first in order to make an informed decision.
Members who do take their pension benefits through Partial Retirement may also find that their personal tax position alters and need to take this into account.
We strongly encourage members to obtain a Partial Retirement estimate directly from the scheme administrators by completing the Estimate Request form which can be obtained from the NHS Pensions website:
Estimates-Member Partial Retirement Estimate Request Form-20231122-(V3).pdf (nhsbsa.nhs.uk)
Those members who were moved to the 2015 scheme between 1 April 2015 and 31 March 2023 may also need to consider their actions should benefits be accessed. NHS Pensions have confirmed that an online support calculator will be made available.
If you intend to retire within the next 12 months you can obtain an estimate of your retirement benefits by emailing your request to the King’s Pension team, stating;
- Your full name
- Assignment number
- Proposed retirement date
Have you accessed your Total Reward Statement (TRS)
Once you have your estimate you may want to discuss your pension options by contacting the Pensions Contract Manager and either making a telephone or Microsoft Teams appointment.
The type of retirement that you are eligible for depends on the scheme that you are in and your age. Further information about the different types of retirement can be found here
Retirement Course – held on MS Teams
Keeping your retirement plans on track can be a challenging task. The Pre-retirement course encourages a positive and realistic approach to help you make informed choices about your retirement plans.
Sessions are run each month until December 2024 on Teams, click the link to book your place >>Affinity Connect (event-registration.co.uk)
What type of Retirement are you taking?
There are 3 options for members taking retirement
- Retire and leave working in the NHS
- Retire and return to work (Flexible retirement)
- Reduce pensionable pay by reduction in hours or lower paid role (Partial Retirement)
Retire & leave working in the NHS
Member resigns and terminates employment in order to access pension benefits. Leaver form must be submitted on the New HR Portal.
Once this has been received the KCH Pensions team will email the member their Retirement Form to complete and return, along with other supporting information.
Retire & Return to work (Flexible retirement)
Member resigns & terminates employment in order to access pension benefits. Member is re-employed by Trust after having at minimum of a 24 hour break, however a fortnight break is best practice.
Leaver form must be submitted on the New HR Portal. Flexible retirement pack / form must be completed and returned to Recruitment to fast track them back onto the payroll.
Partial Retirement
From 1 October 2023, member must request reduction of pensionable pay of at least 10% for a minimum period of 12 months. This can be achieved by a reduction in hours or a change of job to a lower paid role. Managers and members should follow the process in the KCH Flexible Working Policy.
In some cases where the Trust is unable to accommodate flexible working, Retire & Return (see above) may be a more suitable option.
No leaver form required. There must be a HR Change form to confirm change in contract. All members who are over 55 and over and have employers agreement can access between 20% - 100% of their pension.
Any benefits accessed prior to the scheme retirement age will be subject to an actuarially voluntary early retirement reduction. This reduction will be permanent, so all members are strongly advised to get an estimate directly from NHS Pension first in order to make an informed decision.
Members who do take their pension benefits through Partial Retirement may also find that their personal tax position alters and need to take this into account.
We strongly encourage members to obtain a Partial Retirement estimate directly from the scheme administrators by completing the Estimate Request form which can be obtained from the NHS Pensions website:
Estimates-Member Partial Retirement Estimate Request Form-20231122-(V3).pdf (nhsbsa.nhs.uk)
Those members who were moved to the 2015 scheme between 1 April 2015 and 31 March 2023 may also need to consider their actions should benefits be accessed. NHS Pensions have confirmed that an online support calculator will be made available.