Winnershsaint
Guru
My wife is 54 and she worked in the local NHS Hospital Trust for 12 years. She was made redundant in a re-organisation of HR and training functions. She was able to take her NHS Pension. Got her actuarily reduced lump sum yesterday. Wasn't financially worth keeping it until she was 60, especially she wasn't paying into it any more. She now has a job with a multi-national Telecoms company which she thoroughly enjoys. The culture in that company is based on trust and professionalism, whereas her experience in the NHS was one of suspicion, narrow thinking, bullying and fear. The years she spent in vain trying to turn this workplace culture to a more progressive and enlightened one was in the end part of her downfall within that organisation. Even the circumstances of her redundancy highlight the inefficiencies of the NHS whereby an HR Director effectively cost the trust more in redundancies than savings they made, as a small number of others remaining were given substantial promotions. What happened to my wife in terms of consultation with regards to redundancy and the roles that were left was bordering on the illegal and a case could be argued for constructive dismissal. She is so happy to back in the private sector. NHS rant over.
Back to pensions, I took early retirement aged 57 from teaching in the summer and would have been able to access that from 55 onwards.
Back to pensions, I took early retirement aged 57 from teaching in the summer and would have been able to access that from 55 onwards.