An NHS Pension is calculated differently for Officers and Practitioners in the 1995 and 2008 section.
1995 section
In the 1995 section, you’ll receive a pension and a retirement lump sum. The retirement lump sum is normally 3 times the pension amount.
Officer
For an Officer, the pension is calculated on 1/80th of the best of your last 3 years pensionable pay. This does not have to be consecutive years if you’ve had a break in membership.
Pensionable pay × pensionable membership × 1/80 = pension.
The retirement lump sum is calculated as:
Pensionable pay × pensionable membership × 3/80 = retirement lump sum.
Part years will also count towards your pension.
Practitioner
For Practitioners, the pension is based on 1.4% of your revalued career earnings. This is calculated by recording your pensionable earnings for each year of membership in the Scheme and applying a revaluation factor.
The revaluation factor is 1.5% above the amount of the annual increase. This is under the Pensions Increase Act.
The resulting figure is known as your uprated earnings:
Uprated earnings × 1.4% = pension.
2008 section
In the 2008 section you’ll receive a pension based on your reckonable pay. Your reckonable pay is the average of the best 3 consecutive years pensionable pay in the last 10 years.
You’ll have the choice of taking a retirement lump sum by reducing your annual pension.
Officer
For an Officer, the pension is calculated on 1/60th of your reckonable pay for each year of pensionable membership:
Reckonable pay × pensionable membership × 1/60 = pension.
Part years will also count towards your pension.
Choice
If you opted to move to the 2008 section through Choice, your pension is calculated differently. If you were over the age of 60 on 1 October 2009, the amount of membership you have accrued up to 31 March 2008 is reduced before being used to calculate your pension.
Part of your pension will be used to pay for a mandatory lump sum. This is the amount of lump sum you earned in the 1995 section up to 31 March 2008. The 1/60 Pension is reduced by £1 for each £12 of mandatory lump sum.
Practitioner
For Practitioners, the pension is based on 1.87% of your revalued career earnings. This is calculated by recording your pensionable earnings for each year of membership in the Scheme and applying a revaluation factor.
The revaluation factor is 1.5% above the amount of the annual increase. This is under the Pensions Increase Act.
The resulting figure is known as uprated earnings:
Uprated earnings × 1.87% = pension.