Whether you opt for the basic report (at no additional cost) or the full tailored report (at a cost of £960 +VAT), the bespoke Wesleyan NHS pension assessment tool will help you to understand your current pension position - and how you can achieve and protect the things that matter most to you, such as financial security for your family.

Are you confident you know what your NHS pension will be worth?

Life will throw a lot of ‘what if?’ scenarios your way. Like what if you had to retire early due to ill health? What pension benefits would you be entitled to? How would your family be financially supported in the event of your death? And how will future market conditions affect your finances?

As with most things, the best way to protect your pension is to proactively plan ahead and make sure that you’re making informed financial decisions that are aligned to your retirement goals.

With this in mind, Wesleyan have created a comprehensive NHS pension assessment tool that will give you a thorough overview of your current pension position and what this could mean for your future plans.

If you’ve opted out of the NHS Pension Scheme, the report can also project your current benefits to retirement, as well as showing you the difference if you were to opt back in, which will help you to remain informed regarding all of your retirement and pension options.

We can bring you some much needed clarity

This report focuses on the key retirement planning areas that you’ll need to consider, including:

  • The specifics of your NHS Pension Scheme membership and how this could affect your pension pot(s)
  • Where you currently stand in terms of your annual allowance
  • How opting for scheme pays could affect your finances
  • How any personal pensions you may hold could affect your post-work funds and lifestyle
  • How consumer price index (CPI) figures may impact upon your pension funds
  • The importance of taking early action, rather than waiting until you’re about to retire

Once your report has been created, your friendly Specialist Financial Adviser from Wesleyan Financial Services will be on hand to make sure that you understand exactly what’s covered in the report, as well as any steps that you could take to strengthen your current pension projection.

As they work exclusively alongside medical and dental professionals, they have a deep understanding of the intricacies of the NHS Pension Scheme and will be able to answer any questions you may have, such as whether or not your current pension pot(s) will be substantial enough to help you realise your retirement aspirations.

Retirement planning areas - what’s included in the full and basic versions of the report?

Basic report Full report
Officer, practitioner or combination membership
Maximum tax-free lump sum
Officer and practitioner added years
Future salary changes
Historical defer and re-joined the scheme
Historical defer but planning to re-join in the future
Future plans to defer and then re-join
Annual allowance (current membership)
Annual allowance (legacy membership)
Annual allowance (reformed membership)
McCloud remedy period projections for legacy and reformed schemes*
Annual allowance and income record
Cost of Scheme Pays if used in the current year
Divorce
Personal pensions

Note that only calculations based on 1995 and 2015 scheme membership are currently available.

* Basic report shows projections for legacy schemes only.

Expert NHS pension guidance that’s led by your needs

With their friendly, no-nonsense approach, your Financial Adviser will use your report’s findings to make sure that you’ll be able to make strategic retirement choices that are linked to the things that matter most to you and your loved ones, such as financial peace of mind in your post-work years.

The report can also help you to identify any steps that may need to be taken to ensure you are able to enjoy the retirement that you’ve been dreaming of - whether it’s the basic or the full version, this report can play an integral role in helping people like you to plan ahead and retire early, without having to worry about what this would mean for their finances.

NHS Pension Assessment Report FAQs

  • What does the NHS Pension Assessment report show?

    The report will show your pension income and lump sum position at your expected retirement age, as well as two years either side of this. The report also contains information that could be useful in helping you to make informed retirement decisions, such as your annual allowance and what the impact would be if you were to nominate scheme pays, and if and how you may be affected by the McCloud remedy.

  • I’m opted out of the NHS Pension - what’s the benefit of the assessment report for me?

    The report can project your current benefits to retirement, and it will also show you the difference if you were to opt back in. Depending on your reasons for opting out, the report will help you to assess the additional savings or pension planning that you may need to make to achieve your desired standard of living in your post-work years.

  • I want to opt out of the NHS Pension, will the report help me decide what’s best?
    Before making such a decision, it’s really important to look closely at both options and to weigh up all of the possible tax and benefit implications. The report can project your pension income to your expected retirement age for both scenarios, so you can see the projections if you opt to stay in, as well as if you decide to opt out.
  • Will the NHS assessment report tell me if I can retire early?

    Early retirement is a life goal for many of the medics and dentists that we support, and this goal can only be achieved if you have sufficient assets, cash, investments and pensions to lead the lifestyle that you’re hoping for in retirement. Working with the findings of your report, your Financial Adviser can help you to work out a plan and, like most things, the earlier you start to plan, the better.

    This report is an essential piece of the jigsaw that can help you to understand your current projected pension benefits, which can be used to plan ahead and make sure that early retirement will be a viable option for you. We can also use cashflow modelling to thoroughly analyse your situation and visualise how your retirement will look based on projected income, essential expenditure and lifestyle expenditure.

  • Why has annual allowance been such an issue recently?

    The recent rises in inflation mean that a number of professionals will have seen a spike in their pension growth. Despite growth in the annual allowance too, medics and dentists may still have issues with the annual allowance over the next couple of years.

    While this can seem a little daunting, it’s important to establish the facts early so that you can make informed decisions that are based on what’s best for you and your loved ones.

  • My accountant has advised that I nominate scheme pays to meet my annual allowance charge. How will this affect my pension?
    Using scheme pays allows the pension scheme to pay the tax charge on your behalf, which has an effect of reducing your pension income. A high annual allowance charge will mean that you have enjoyed significant growth in your guaranteed pension for life. Scheme pays offsets this tax charge over the expected life of your pension. The report will provide an estimate of Scheme pays cost if used in the current tax year.
  • Will the report show me the impact of opting out part year?
    Yes, and it’s important to consider all aspects of opting out vs. opting in before making any decisions around this, including the loss of member benefits and the taxation impact.
  • I’m in my early 30s, so why should I be thinking about my retirement right now?

    There are a number of key differences with the Reformed NHS Scheme (2015 scheme). It has no automatic lump sum, it’s a ‘care’ scheme (with contributions based on a career average basis) and the scheme’s retirement date is linked to State Pension Age. No matter when you wish to retire, it’s important to keep an eye on how your benefits are building and to understand all of your options - which will be particularly important if you want to retire early.

    Your early thirties are a great time to think ahead to the level of income that you and your family might need to have your dream retirement and to explore the other options available to build your retirement pot.

Make sure you’re making the right choices for you and your family

To get started on protecting your retirement plans, book your appointment today and we’ll be in touch to arrange a meeting for a time and place that best suits your schedule.

Book your appointment

Tax treatment depends on the individual circumstances of each client and may be subject to change in the future.

Investments can go down as well as up, which means that you could get back less than you invest.