What does it cost?
From 1 April 2008, employee pension contributions will vary according to your salary and (2008/09 only) whether or not your work is classified as ‘manual’. A table of contribution rates effective from 1 April 2008 can be found from this link.
The real cost of your contribution rate is less than the percentage figure suggests because :
- you get tax relief on your contributions; and
- you pay a lower rate of National Insurance contributions because you are contracted out of the State Second Pension Scheme (S2P).
- The benefits of the NHS Scheme are valuable. Actuaries have assessed them as being worth around 20% of overall pay.
Your employer pays the extra required to meet the total cost of the benefits.
On beginning work in the NHS your employer will automatically join you into the New NHS Pension Scheme, assuming you have joined for the first time on or after 1 April 2008. If you are rejoining the NHS, and have been in the Pension Scheme before, you may be eligible to rejoin the NHS Pension Scheme. You can find out more from the deferred members’ factsheet in the members library (add link).
If you decide other pension arrangements offer better value for money, or for some other reason are more suitable, ask your employer for form SD502 to record your decision to opt-out of the NHS Pension Scheme