SCS applies to members in particular employment groups who were members of the NHS Pension Scheme before 6 March 1995.
These employment groups include:
- nurses including student nurses and occupational health nurses
- physiotherapists
- midwives
- health visitors
Nursery nurses and physiotherapy helpers are not included.
SCS was abolished from 6 March 1995.
If you already held the status on or before 6 March 1995, you can keep it until retirement if you:
- continue membership in qualifying employment
- do not have a break in membership of 5 years or more
You can continue to keep your SCS in the 2015 Scheme but it only counts towards an earlier retirement age for benefits in the 1995 Section.
Read more information about SCS on our website.
Retirement
If you have SCS, your normal retirement age is from age 55.
You can retire from age 55 with unreduced benefits if:
- you’re in a SCS post on the date of your retirement
- you’ve been a SCS member for the whole of your last 5 years of pensionable employment
The 5 years of pensionable employment does not need to be continuous service.
Your last day of service can be the day before your 55th birthday.
Left pensionable employment or opted out of the Scheme before age 55 and did not return
Your benefits will become deferred.
Your normal retirement age is age 60.
Redundancy
If you have deferred 1995 Section benefits due to leaving because of redundancy, you could claim your 1995 Section benefits from age 55 if you were a SCS member for the whole of your last 5 years of pensionable employment before your redundancy.
This only applies if you've not resumed active Scheme membership since being made redundant.
Gender
If the gender you were assigned at birth is male and you have SCS, you can retire from age 55.
The benefits based on your membership from 17 May 1990 will not be reduced. The benefits for membership before this date will be reduced if paid before age 60, unless you ask to have these benefits deferred.
Multiple jobs
If you’ve spent the last 5 years in a SCS job, you can retire from all jobs at age 55 without any reduction to your NHS Pension.
Non-GP provider
If you become a non-GP provider and continue to perform the same duties as you did in your SCS post, you can keep your SCS.