Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps the NHS is taking to process the backlog of retirement applications of NHS workers, so that former NHS staff can access their retirement benefits as soon as possible.

The NHS Business Services Authority, which administers the NHS Pension Scheme, received an increase in retirement applications for April 2022 compared to the previous year. While the majority of applications were processed within the timeframes expected, some delays were experienced due to the need for complex manual calculations. The volume of applications has returned to the levels usually received, although as the majority of staff currently retiring have benefits in both the 1995/2008 and the 2015 schemes, more manual calculations are still required.

The NHS Business Services Authority has increased the number of staff available to undertake these calculations and issued guidance to scheme employers to ensure that members are informed of the progress of their application prior to the employer submitting their application. Where manual calculations are required, as the member has the option of receiving the smaller 2015 Scheme pension as a lump sum, the NHS Business Services Authority is limiting any financial impact by ensuring 1995/2008 Scheme benefits are paid immediately, while options for payment of 2015 Scheme benefits are discussed with the member. This ensures the payment of the majority of a member’s benefits is not delayed.