Changes to the NHS Pension Scheme regulations have been introduced from 1 April 2023. These allow members who have retired with 1995 Section benefits the option to re-join the NHS Pension Scheme if they return to work.
What this means for the member
Members with 1995 Section benefits can now retire and take their full pension, then return to work after a break of at least 24 hours and re-join the 2015 NHS Pension Scheme to earn further benefits. These changes also apply to 1995 Section members who retired before 1 April 2023.
This option is already available to members of the 2008 Section or 2015 Scheme.
The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) has also permanently removed the 16-hour requirement from 1 April 2023. As long as a member has had a break of 24 hours from their previous job, they’ll be able to move to a new employment contract and start building 2015 benefits immediately.
Resources for you as an employer
The guidance in the re-employment section of the Employer Hub has been updated to reflect the changes, including a new retire and return guide for employers and an updated contractual enrolment vs auto enrolment factsheet.
We’ve also published new versions of the AW8 and AW8P to remove the disclaimers about 1995 Section members not being able to rejoin the Scheme.
Our employer guide on abatement is being updated and will be published soon.
We’ll be sharing more information and resources on the changes via our website in the coming weeks.
Sharing information with members
There is more information on the Your options for a flexible retirement section of the Member Hub.
Our retirement guide on the Applying for your pension section of the Member Hub has also been updated.
Since January 2023, we’ve been writing to all members to inform them of the changes to retire and re-join and partial retirement and you can view a copy of the letter. We expect to have sent all letters by the end of June 2023.
Introducing partial retirement
The DHSC is also introducing changes to make it simpler for all members, including members with 1995 Section benefits, to take partial retirement (sometimes known as drawdown) from 1 October 2023. You can read more about the changes on the Partial retirement section of the Member Hub.