You may only apply to bring a transfer into nuvos within your first twelve months of pensionable service.
If you tell the Scheme Administrator (MyCSP) that you would like to consider transferring your pension from a previous scheme, they will ask your previous employer for a “transfer value” quote.
Your Scheme Administrator (MyCSP) will then give you an estimate of the amount of nuvos pension that this will buy.
Please note: an expression of interest into the possibility of transferring in your pension is not considered to be an application. An application is a signed declaration that you are happy for the transfer to proceed.
Different arrangements (and time limits) will apply depending on whether or not your previous scheme was in the Public Sector Transfer Club (“the Club”). The special arrangements for Club schemes are explained in question 39.
We can only accept a transfer value if your previous scheme gives certain undertakings. If your previous scheme will not give these, we cannot accept a transfer value.
If the transfer value is accepted, it will buy you a defined amount of nuvos pension which will increase in line with rises in the cost of living and be payable when you retire.
The maximum amount of nuvos pension you can buy through a transfer in is the lesser of:
If you are working part time, it will be your actual pensionable earnings, not the full time equivalent, which is used to work out the maximum you can transfer in.
a. Ellen joins nuvos at age 45, on a pensionable salary of £40,000. She wants to transfer in service from a previous scheme. The maximum she can buy through a transfer in is £18,000 (27/60 x £40,000) (27=45-18) of nuvos pension. The transfer value she has been quoted from her previous scheme is enough to buy £7,500 of nuvos pension so she is able to go ahead with the transfer.
b. Mohammed joins nuvos when he is 62, on a part time salary of £10,000. He has a frozen pension from his last employer. The transfer value would buy him £6,000 of nuvos pension so he cannot go ahead with the transfer, as this is more than 50% of his pensionable earnings.
c. Joanna joins nuvos when she is 40, on a salary of £30,000. She has a preserved pension in premium based on 10 years’ service. The biggest transfer value she can bring into nuvos is one that would buy £6,000 of nuvos pension (12/60 of £30,000) (12=40-18-10).
The Public Sector Transfer Club offers employees who move between Club employers the opportunity to transfer their pension benefits on special terms. Club terms are only applied when someone moves employment on a voluntary basis.
If you want to bring in a transfer from a Club scheme, you must apply to do this within 12 months of being eligible to join nuvos.
Please note: an expression of interest into the possibility of transferring in your pension is not considered to be an application. An application is a signed declaration that you are happy for the transfer to proceed.
Any Club transfer in will buy you benefits calculated on a final salary basis, and with a pension age of 65. (See question 42 for an example showing how this is worked out).
Further information about the Club can be found here: Public Sector Transfer Club
42. What happens if I link my preserved pension to my current earnings?
Unless you previously left with a compensation package under the Civil Service Compensation Scheme, you may choose to “link” your preserved pension to your current earnings.
You will have been asked if you are interested in linking your preserved pension on the Pension Choices form you received when you first joined nuvos. The option to link your preserved pension to your current earnings must be made within 12 months of joining nuvos.
Please note: whether or not you link your preserved pension to your current earnings, it will be taken into account when working out the maximum pension you can have from nuvos (see question 45).
If you choose to link your previous pension, your preserved pension will be converted into a service credit (in years and days) in nuvos. The service credit will take into account that the pension age for your preserved pension will become 65. Your linked pension will come into payment at the same time as your nuvos pension.
When you take your nuvos pension benefits, the linked final salary element of your pension will be worked out on your final pensionable earnings at that time, by dividing the service credit by 60 and multiplying by your final pensionable earnings.
Final pensionable earnings means the best of:
Note your linked pension will usually only be worked out on earnings up to the earnings cap; any earnings above this limit will not count for your pension. You can find out more about the current limit from the Scheme Administrator (MyCSP).
a. Gina brought a Club transfer into nuvos which bought her a service credit of 10 years. She leaves after 5 years, when she has final pensionable earnings of £60,000, and has built up a nuvos pension of £6,000. So her total pension will be £6,000 + (10/60 x £60,000), that is, £16,000 a year.
b. Dan had a preserved pension in classic which he chose to link to his nuvos pension, and this gives him a service credit of 12 years. When he retires he has built up a pension of £4,000 in nuvos, and he is working part time. His actual pensionable earnings are £14,000, but the full time equivalent rate is £25,000. So his pension will be £4,000 + (12/60 x £25,000), giving him a total pension of £9,000 a year.
If you choose not to link the two, your earlier pension will continue to be worked out based on your final salary when you previously left that scheme. Your earlier pension will be payable at your pension age in the previous scheme, which will usually be age 60. You may bring your preserved pension into payment at your pension age in that scheme, without reduction for early payment, but it will be subject to abatement if you are working for an employer covered by the Civil Service pension arrangements. For more information on this, see question 28.
28. What happens if I’m re-employed in the Civil Service after drawing my pension?
When you rejoin nuvos, your preserved pension will normally be automatically “aggregated” with your current pension. However, you may choose not to have the two pensions aggregated if you wish.
If you aggregate the two, then your earlier pension will count for all purposes, such as ill health retirement, but you must take all your pension at the same time (unless you draw some pension on partial retirement terms, see questions 29 and 30).
You will need to think carefully about your choice particularly if your preserved pension includes benefits calculated on a final salary basis (see questions 41-43).
Greg has a preserved nuvos pension which includes a Club transfer in. When he last left the Civil Service, his final pensionable earnings were £45,000. He has re-joined the Civil Service at a lower grade, on pensionable pay of £30,000. He does not think that his current pensionable pay will increase above his earlier pensionable earnings before he retires so he chooses not to aggregate his previous nuvos pension. (The nuvos element of it will continue to go up in line with the rises in the cost of living, but the part of his pension bought by the Club transfer will be higher if it remains linked to his previous higher salary).
Your pension (excluding any added pension that you have bought, but including any pension bought by a transfer value) cannot be more than 75% of your highest scheme earnings (see question 19).
If you have any other pensions from the Civil Service pension arrangements these will count against the 75% limit, whether or not you have chosen to link these pensions. Any pensions worked out on a final salary basis will count against your pension limit on the basis of N/60 x 100%, where N is the years of service used to calculate the final salary pension.
a. Maggie has a preserved Civil Service pension based on 15 years’ service. This will “use up” 15/60, i.e. 25% of her nuvos limit. So the maximum amount that Maggie can earn from nuvos is 50% (75% - 25%) of her highest scheme earnings.
b. Huw is receiving a Civil Service pension based on 45 years’ service. He cannot build up any benefits in nuvos because 45/60 uses up his full 75% limit.
c. Michelle has chosen to link a previous Civil Service pension which bought her a 30 year service credit in nuvos. She is working part time, and her highest scheme earnings are £4,000. So the maximum pension she can have from her nuvos service is £1,000 (because her service credit has already used up 50% of the maximum).