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A contingent decision is a decision you made or did not make because of actual or perceived implications of the 2015 Scheme reforms. You’d have acted differently if you knew you’d be remaining in the 1995/2008 Scheme for the remedy period.
An example of a contingent decision would be if you chose to opt out of the Scheme because you were not able to remain in the 1995/2008 Scheme for the remedy period.
The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) recently published the outcome of its consultation on how contingent decisions will be administered in the HSC Pension Scheme.
Voluntary contributions and additional pension:
If you cancelled an Added Years or Additional Pension arrangement in the legacy scheme because of the discrimination identified in the McCloud judgement, you may be able to choose to undo that cancellation. More information can be found in our HSC Pensions Added Benefits Contingent Decisions Factsheet.
If you wish to reinstate a previous added years or additional pension arrangement or to retrospectively apply for a 1995/2008 Scheme additional pension, complete and return the HSC Contingent Decisions (non Compensation) Application Form. Tick the relevant box and provide as much information as you can in the space provided on the form.
If you have received an illustration to reinstate a previous added years or additional pension arrangement or a retrospective 1995/2008 Scheme additional pension you can use these tools to calculate the monthly cost if you want to pay by instalments or convert an existing instalment plan into a one-off lump sum payment.
HSC Pensions – Instalment Calculator
HSC Pensions – Lump sum Calculator
Early Retirement Reduction Buy-out (ERRBO):
Active or deferred members of the 2015 Scheme who paid early retirement reduction buy out (ERRBO) contributions between 1 April 2015 and 31 March 2022 will receive a letter explaining they have options for what to do with these contributions.
These members have this choice because their 2015 Scheme membership for the period between 1 April 2015 and 31 March 2022 has been moved back to the 1995/2008 Scheme as part of the Public Service Pensions Remedy (PSPR).
As ERRBO is not available in the 1995/2008 Scheme, these members are being contacted to ask what they would like to do with the ERRBO contributions they paid during this period, known as the remedy period.
As part of the PSPR, members will be given a choice of 1995/2008 Scheme or 2015 Scheme benefits for the remedy period when they retire. This means that what they choose to do with their affected ERRBO contributions now will affect the options they have when they claim their pension benefits.
The first option is to wait until retirement to take these contributions. This means you’ll still have the option to choose 2015 Scheme benefits for the remedy period and use your contributions to retire earlier without any reductions to your pension. If you decide the 1995/2008 Scheme is better for you, you can have your ERRBO contributions paid back to you with interest, or convert them to additional pension.
The second option is to apply to have these contributions paid back to you now. This means that if you choose the 2015 Scheme for the remedy period when you retire, you will no longer have ERRBO contributions for this period.
If you are affected by this, you will receive a letter explaining your options in detail, including a summary of how much your ERRBO contributions add up to.
Choice 2 – choosing between 1995 and 2008 Section benefits:
Original Choice members, who moved to the 2008 Section, have not been given the option to reverse their Choice decision as those members could have remained in the 1995 section.
However, if you had 1995 Section benefits that you decided to move to the 2008 Section as part of the Choice 2 exercise, you may have the option to revisit this decision.
If you are affected and have received a letter about this, we’ve updated the information available to help you decide.
Attached below is a member factsheet containing useful information regarding Choice 2.
Opt Outs:
You can apply to buy back remedy period service if you opted out of the HSC Pension Scheme because of the discrimination identified in the McCloud judgement.
Before you apply
Use a calculator to estimate the cost of buying back remedy period service.
Buy back cost calculators
There are two versions of the calculator based on your type of service:
HSC Pensions Buy Back Cost Calculator (Officers – Non-Practitioner Members)
HSC Pensions Buy Back Cost Calculator (Practitioners)
How to apply – request your quote
If you’ve used a buy back cost calculator and decide to go ahead with reinstating remedy period service, you should complete and return the application form:
HSC Pensions Application To Buy Back Opted Out Service
We’ll use your completed form to calculate the cost of buying back service for the period you ask for. We’ll write to you with your personal illustration, which shows how much interest you’ll pay and tells you the benefits you’ll receive for the additional service in the 1995/2008 Scheme.
Then you can decide if you would like to go ahead and buy back the service, and how you’ll pay missing contributions.
How to apply – return your payment instruction form
To go ahead with buying back your remedy period service, you’ll need to complete and return the payment instruction form attached to your quote within 12 months.
Ways you can pay
Your illustration tells you the net cost and interest charge to buy back your opted out service.
You can pay these amounts using one of the two options below:
- Pay directly from your retirement benefits, either from the lump sum or by deductions to your regular pension.
- Pay by instalments over an agreed time period that suits your budget.
Use the instalment calculator to see what the monthly payment will be for the length of instalment plan you would like.
HSC Pensions Instalment Calculator
Paying by deductions to your regular pension or instalments means you’ll pay more interest at the National Savings and Investment Direct Saver interest rate that applies from when you start to make payments until all your missing pension contributions have been paid. You can make a one-off payment to clear any remaining instalments at any time. The lump sum calculator shows you how much you need to pay.
HSC Pensions Lump Sum Calculator
Decision Tree
If you’ve recently received a letter asking you to choose between the 1995 Section or the 2008 Section for your pension benefits up to 31 March 2022, this Decision Tree can help you to understand which option is best for you.