Secure Psychiatric Units: Retirement

(asked on 10th May 2023) - View Source

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what consideration has he recently made of the potential merits of giving staff working in secure units the ability take early retirement from 60 years old.


Answered by
Will Quince Portrait
Will Quince
This question was answered on 18th May 2023

The NHS Pension Scheme is one of the best available, providing generous retirement benefits for National Health Service staff. The Scheme is made up of the 1995 and 2008 Sections and the 2015 Scheme. From 1 April 2022, all members are now in the 2015 Scheme, which has a significantly improved accrual rate and is revalued by 1.5% above CPI inflation each year. The retirement age for members of the 2015 Scheme is linked to their State Pension age.

Some staff who work in secure units, such as mental health nurses, may have Mental Health Officer status for their service up to 31 March 2022. After 20 years membership, these members can retire from age 55 without any reduction to their 1995 Section benefits. From 1 October 2023, a partial retirement option in the 1995 Section will allow staff to claim a portion of their pension benefits and continue working whilst building further pension.

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