Breaks in Pensionable Employment and Future Service
Contents:
The effect of a break in pensionable employment on future service
How can a member or pensioner become a “person with mixed service”?
How can a member or pensioner not become a person with mixed service?
The effect of a break in pensionable employment on future service
Following the change in the Teachers’ Pensions regulations as at 1 April 2007, it is now possible for a member to have service with a Normal Pension Age (NPA) of 60 and a NPA of 65. Such members are referred to in the regulations as a “person with mixed service”.
How can a member or pensioner become a “person with mixed service”?
If a member or pensioner was in pensionable employment before 1 April 2007 and returns to pensionable employment:
- after a break of more than 5 years and then returns after 31 March 2008 or
- at a point after 31March 2008, the member or pensioner has a break of more than 5 years,
their future service will have a NPA of 65 and accrual of pension at a rate of 1/60ths for each year of service with no automatic lump sum. Existing service will retain a NPA of 60 with 1/80ths accrual for each year of service and an automatic lump sum of 3 times the member’s pension. Hence they will have “mixed service” with part of their service having an NPA of 60 and part of their service with an NPA of 65.
How can a member or pensioner not become a person with mixed service?
Provided a member or pensioner with pensionable employment before 1 April 2007 returns to pensionable employment on or before 31 March 2008, they will retain their NPA of 60, regardless of how long their break in service has been.
Going forward, provided there is no break in service of more than 5 years, the NPA will remain at 60.
What constitutes a reasonable period of pensionable employment or reckonable service to maintain an NPA of 60 for future service?
If in any rolling period of 365 days during the 5 year break such a member returns to pensionable employment for a minimum of 60 days or 30 days reckonable service (i.e. the equivalent of being employed part-time for 60 days at 50%), they will retain a NPA of 60 in respect of all future service. For those members who do not attain a minimum period of 60 days pensionable employment or 30 days reckonable service in a rolling period of 365 days during the 5 year period, a “relevant break of service” will occur and service accruing after the break will have a NPA of 65.
For example, if someone with service prior to 1 April 2007 leaves pensionable employment on 31 March 2009, and subsequently was in pensionable employment for less than 60 days or accrued less than 30 days reckonable service in any 365 day rolling period, then from 2 April 2014 all future service would have a NPA of 65. All service prior to 2 April 2014 would have a NPA of 60.
A further period of 5 years will begin at the end of each period of employment where there has been no relevant break of service.
