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Flexible and Partial retirement allows qualifying members of the USS and NHSPS pension schemes to receive part of their pension benefits from age 55 (age 50 for NHSPS special classes).
Members should follow these steps when considering an application for flexible retirement.
- Step 1:
Member reviews flexible retirement information Members wishing to explore the possibility of flexible retirement should review:
(i) The Work Life Balance Policy which details the eligibility, application and approval process for reduced part-time working.
(ii) This USS webpage gives information and eligibility on USS Flexible Retirement.
(iii) The USS benefit illustrator which can be used to obtain a flexible retirement estimate.
(iv) The NHSPS Partial Retirement webpage.- Step 2:
Member has an informal discussion about the possibility of reduced working hours with the line manager Applicants should engage in early discussions with their line manager about the possibility of reducing their working hours by a minimum of 20% for members of USS and a minimum of 10%, or one Programmed Activity, for members of the NHS. The value of corresponding elements of pay such as London allowance and clinical excellence awards will also be reduced by 10%. Members of the NHS Pension Scheme should talk to both your UCL and NHS manager so that both parties to joint contracts can agree to a partial retirement arrangement. Your department should also liaise with the NHS Billings Department (nhsbilling@ucl.ac.uk) for advice on the elements of pensionable pay that can be reduced. The line manager should consider whether the request would meet the business needs of the department. You and your line managers should be aware of the formal criteria for considering such requests in the Work-Life Balance Policy. For convenience, the criteria are summarised below with some additional practical guidance. Departmental HR teams can provide advice and assistance to managers where necessary.
Members should consider and be prepared to discuss:
- Reasons for request, including the need to facilitate personal or family commitments
- Options for different working hours/patterns
- Compatibility of proposed working pattern(s) with the department needs
- Implications of reducing hours or pensionable pay on individual work objectives, activities and any possible changes to the contract e.g. for an academic member of staff, a reduction of hours removing teaching duties may require a transfer to a Research contract
- Implications of reducing hours on other departmental staff or departmental objectives and suggestions for addressing these implications
Line managers should consider and be prepared to discuss:
- The impact upon achieving individual, team or departmental objectives and meeting business needs of the department in the short, medium and long term.
- The benefits of the proposal, which may include improved productivity, morale and commitment, retention of key staff and/or salary or other cost savings. Work should be as productive (or more so) following the implementation of any changes.
- The feasibility and impact of the work on colleagues, the department, students, research sponsors, service users or any other relevant third party.
- Impact on the workload or health, safety and security of the individual concerned or their colleagues: line managers must be aware of the hazards of working outside the 'normal' day and should consult their departmental safety policy in the first instance if they have any queries.
- Any additional administration required to implement the proposed arrangement should be practicable and cost effective.
- Effective management of the change; this may generate efficiency gains in terms of the use of office space.
- Ability to secure cover for the remaining hours and duties e.g. re-organise work amongst existing staff or recruit additional staff.
- Timing of change e.g. implications to teaching.
- Changes to staff contract e.g. for an academic member of staff, a reduction of hours removing teaching duties may require a transfer to a Research contract. Advice should be sought from HR Consultancy.
- Equality considerations. The request to reduce working hours may be in relation to personal commitments such as caring for elderly relatives or a person with a disability and such requests should be considered favourably. Agreeing part-time working requests can open opportunities for succession planning, mentoring of younger staff and bringing new staff into the department.
- Where the arrangement proposed cannot be accepted for operational reasons, possible alternatives should be considered and discussed with the individual before a final decision is reached. Advice should also be sought from HR Consultancy.
NHS Pension Scheme – National Clinical Excellence Awards (NCEA)
If you apply for Partial Retirement and are in receipt of an NCEA, then you will need to apply to the Advisory Committee on Clinical Impact Awards (ACCIA) for the award to be continued.
Please complete the Clinical Excellence Award holders: employment change notification to confirm that you are considering partial retirement and to request the continuance of your NCEA. You should do this as early as possible and before you complete Form B.- Reasons for request, including the need to facilitate personal or family commitments
- Step 3:
Member requests USS Flexible Retirement or NHSPS partial retirement quotation Following informal discussions, the member will need to make a decision about whether to formally pursue the flexible or partial retirement request.
The member needs to complete Form A (either USS or NHSPS) and send this to UCL pensions@ucl.ac.uk to obtain a full quotation from USS or the NHSPS. This form should be endorsed by the line manager to confirm that discussions around reduced working hours have taken place.
- Step 4:
UCL Pension Services provides USS flexible retirement or NHSPS partial retirement quotation to member UCL Pension Services will receive the quotation from USS or the NHSPS and provide this to the member, normally within four weeks of the USS member’s request being received by the scheme and 8 weeks for NHSPS members.
- Step 5:
Member submits formal request for reduction in working hours to line manager The member should complete Form B – USS Application for Part-time Working and Flexible Retirement or the NHSPS Application for Part-time Working and Partial Retirement and submit this to their line manager. The request should detail any considerations made under step 2 of this process i.e. how their request will continue to meet the needs of the department.
- Step 6:
Line manager and Head of Department consider reduction in hours request The line manager will in liaison with the Head of Department consider whether the request (Form B) meets the business needs of the department with reference to step 2 of this process and the criteria in the Work Life Balance Policy.
- Step 7:
Line manager advises member of outcome of reduced hours request The line manager and Head of Department will complete the approval section of Form B and confirm the outcome of the request with the member. A line manager may not approve a request for reduced working hours if this does not meet the business needs of the department. The grounds for rejecting an application will be in accordance with the criteria in the Work-Life Balance Policy. The policy has an appeal procedure which can be followed where requests are not approved.
Where a request is approved, a copy of Form B will be sent to the Departmental Administrator to process the agreed reduction to working hours, salary and any other change to a contract. A copy will also be sent to UCL Pension Services (pensions@ucl.ac.uk) so they can begin the implementation of the member’s flexible or partial retirement and also to NHS Billings (nhsbilling@ucl.ac.uk) so that they can assess your clinical pay.- Step 8:
UCL Pension Services provide flexible Retirement notification to USS or the NHSPS Once Pension Services have received Form B they will contact the member to complete a notification of the member's flexible retirement to USS or partial retirement for the NHSPS. The notification to USS must be no later than 2 months before the change of hours and flexible retirement date. It is advisable to begin the process of NHSPS partial retirement at least 4 months before the date of partial retirement.
NHS Pension Scheme – National Clinical Excellence Awards (NCEA)
If you apply for Partial Retirement and are in receipt of an NCEA, then you will need to apply to the Advisory Committee on Clinical Impact Awards (ACCIA) for the award to be continued.
Please complete the Clinical Excellence Award holders: employment change notification to confirm that you are considering partial retirement and to request the continuance of your NCEA. You should do this as early as possible and before you complete Form B.
