Current processing times for NHS Pensions

This page was last updated on 13 November 2024.

Payments

Payments	Current processing times
Payment of your retirement benefits	Within 30 calendar days from the date of your retirement, or from the date we received all information required to process your application.
Payment of your ill health retirement benefits	Ill Health Retirement benefits - within 20 working days of receipt of your application. Serious Ill Health benefits - applications will be prioritised and paid as a matter of urgency.
Payment of bereavement benefits - Death in service lump sum, survivor pension, dependent child pension	Within 30 calendar days from the date we received all information required.
Refund of your contributions after opting out of the NHS Pension Scheme	Within 1 calendar month of receipt of your application.

Estimates	Current processing times
Receiving your Estimate	Within 40 working days of receipt of your request.

Your Annual Benefit Statement for 2023-24 will be available from mid-August 2024. You can access this using the Electronic Staff Record (ESR) or via My NHS Pension.

If you've not yet received your registration information for My NHS Pension and you're in the groups currently being invited, you can request your unique registration codes by using our online form and selecting 'My NHS Pension registration'.

Transfers in and out of the NHS Pension Scheme	Current processing times
Receiving your transfer in estimate	We're processing in date order, working on the oldest requests first. We anticipate being back to normal service by November 2024. If you're approaching or have passed your first employment anniversary, we'll still process your application as long as we receive it before this date.
Transfer in completion	We're processing in date order, working on the oldest requests first. We anticipate to be back to normal service by November 2024. If you're approaching or have passed your first employment anniversary, we'll still process your application as long as we receive it before this date.
Receiving your transfer out estimate	Within 2 calendar months of the receipt of your request.
Transfer out completion	Within 6 calendar months of the receipt of your agreement to proceed with your application

Other service areas	Current processing times
Pensions On Divorce - Receiving your Cash Equivalent Transfer Value (CETV)	Within 3 calendar months from the date we receive all completed forms required. If you need your CETV urgently due to an upcoming court date, contact us with evidence of your court date at: pensionspod@nhsbsa.nhs.uk.
Nomination completion	Within 30 calendar days of receipt of your request. If registered, you can update your nominations using My NHS Pension. For more information on registering, visit our My NHS Pension webpage.
Additional Pension Application	Within 20 working days of receipt of your request. The new Additional Pension Calculator is now available: Additional Pension Calculator.
Early Retirement Reduction Buy Out (ERRBO) Application	Within 30 working days of the receipt of your agreement to proceed with your application.
Service Request (Including missing service, MHO, special class, service statements)	Within 40 working days of request.

In some circumstances, it may take our teams longer to resolve your request. This could be because: