If you're under your normal pension age (60 for 1995 Section members, 65 for 2008 Section members and State Pension Age or age 65, if later, for 2015 Scheme members) abatement provisions will apply if you retire on one of the following grounds and return to NHS work before your Normal Pension Age:
- Ill health - under the previous ill health retirement arrangements;
- Ill health Tier 1 or Tier 2 - under the current ill health retirement arrangements;
- Early payment of deferred benefits due to ill health;
- Redundancy - if you retired on or before 30 September 2011;
- Early retirement in the Interests of the efficiency of the service;
- Age pensions awarded between ages 55 to 59 to members of the Special Classes/Mental Health Officers. The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) have extended the suspension on this abatement rule to 31 March 2025.
View the details of the consultation on Gov.uk.
Whether your pension is reduced or not will depend on the level of your earnings whilst re-employed. This will also depend upon when you left the Scheme, when you claimed your pension benefits and the type of pension benefits claimed. Abatement rules cease once you have reached your normal pension age of the Section or Scheme from which you have claimed your pension benefits.
You will not be subject to abatement if you were over your Normal Pension Age when you retired.
You will also not be subject to abatement if you retired before your Normal Pension Age and:
- you are in receipt of redundancy benefits and retired on or after 1 October 2011. This is because the unreduced element of your pension has been funded using some or all of your redundancy compensation lump sum, or;
- you are in receipt of actuarially reduced early retirement benefits. This is because you have funded the early payment of your benefits by the actuarial reduction.
For more information, please see the factsheets available in the Working After Retirement section on our website.