Civil_Service_Pensions

Falling ill

Classic plus pension scheme

• At what point do I qualify for an ill-health pension?
• What pension will I get?
• Who decides whether I get an ill-health pension and the level of it?
• What pension will my husband or wife get if I die after getting an ill-health pension?

At what point do I qualify for an ill-health pension?

• your illness is so severe that there is no chance of you ever working again (upper tier), or
• there is a chance of you taking up some employment in the future (lower tier).

To qualify for the upper tier the scheme’s medical adviser must be satisfied that:

• because of your health you cannot do any type of employment
• this situation will continue until you reach pension age.

  To qualify for the lower tier the schemes medical adviser must be satisfied that:

  • because of your health you cannot do your own job or a similar job
  • this situation will continue until you reach pension age.

  What pension will I get?

  We will only pay you a pension if you have been in the scheme for at least two years.

  Upper tier

  You will get your pension from the day you retire. We will not reduce it if we pay it early. And we will increase it to the amount you would have had if you had continued with your current working pattern up to pension age. You do not have to pay contributions for this extra service.

  All the extra service we give you will provide you with a pension as set out in the 1/60 (premium) model.

  Lower tier

  You will get your pension from the day you retire. We will not reduce it if we pay it early. We will not normally increase your service. But if you have less than 10 years’ service we will increase it to the lesser of:

  • 10 years, or
  • twice your service.

  This applies as long as the increase is not more than half the service you had left to serve until pension age. If we do give you extra service, you will not have to pay contributions for it. All your extra service will give you a pension as set out in the premium (1/60) model.

  Who decides whether I get an ill-health pension and the level of it?

  The scheme medical adviser will decide whether you meet the medical criteria for an ill-health pension at the upper – or lower-tier rate. Your employer will then decide whether to retire you.

  You have a right to appeal if you are refused an ill-health retirement pension and you think you should qualify. You can also appeal if you are awarded a lower-tier pension and you think you should qualify for an upper-tier pension.

  What pension will my husband or wife get if I die after getting an ill-health pension?

  For the lower tier your husband or wife will receive a pension based on:

  • half of your ill-health pension if you have paid full contributions based on your service before 1st October 2002
  • 3/8 of your ill-health pension based on your service from 1 October 2002 (including any enhancement).

  This is the equivalent of a pension based on 1/160 x your pensionable pay x enhanced service.

  For the upper tier we will work out your husband’s or wife’s pension in the same way as for the lower tier, except that any enhancement will be that which we would have given if you had died in service on the day that you retired.

  If you have not paid full contributions throughout your service before 1 October 2002, the pension for your husband or wife may be reduced. If you have a civil partner, any service before 6 April 1988 will not count for a civil partner’s pension.

  If you are neither married nor in a civil partnership, your partner may qualify for a pension. This will be the same as the pension for a husband, wife or civil partner, but will be based on your service from 1 October 2002 plus any enhancement.