Frequently asked questions

The ongoing growth of RSH as an organisation has made this a good time to review the pension provision for our employees. Whilst it is not a trivial decision, or straightforward process, to change from one scheme to another, RSH considers that the Civil Service Pension Scheme is a better fit for the organisation than the current HCAPS scheme.

No – RSH employees will no longer be eligible to build up further benefits within HCAPS (although if you are a final salary member, your HCAPS benefits will continue to be linked to your salary from RSH). The Civil Service Pension Scheme will be the only scheme available to former HCAPS members in RSH and new employees.

No. Local Government Pension Scheme members are not affected by these proposals. There are a small number of employees who are currently part of the LGPS for historical reasons. Due to the eligibility rules of both pension schemes, we cannot make the Civil Service Pension Scheme available as an option to these members.

In the current HCAPS scheme, all members contribute at a rate of 6% of pay. In the Civil Service Pension Scheme, the contribution rate is different for different salary levels. These are set out in the table below.

Civil Service Pension Scheme contribution rates

From	To	Contribution Rate
£0	£32,000	4.60%
£32,001	£56,000	5.45%
£56,001	£150,000	7.35%
£150,001	–	8.05%

The impact on your take home pay will depend on your own tax allowances.

Yes, you will still be able to retire early. Your pension will be calculated based on your pensionable service to your date of retirement. This is usually reduced to because it would be paid for longer (as it starts earlier). If you are still employed by RSH you may require employer consent to take early retirement.

You would be entitled to continue to keep both your benefits built up in HCAPS up to 31 March 2024, and future benefits you would build up in the Civil Service Pension Scheme, until you are ready to retire. Your benefits across both schemes would increase each year, broadly in line with inflation, according to the rules of each scheme, even if you no longer work for RSH.

No. We want to know what you think about the proposal before we decide whether to go ahead with it or not – so we are consulting now with HCAPS members and the Trade Unions. Your responses will inform the decision we make about whether to go ahead with the proposal.

We are not providing financial advice. You can find an independent financial adviser through a website such as www.unbiased.co.uk or https://www.moneyhelper.org.uk/en/pensions-and-retirement/taking-your-pension/find-a-retirement-adviser. Please note you would need to meet the cost of advice you seek.

Civil Service Pensions have agreed that pension service with HCAPS will be treated as continuous qualifying service. This means that if a staff member leaves alpha before April 2026, provided they have a total of two years of pension service between HCAPS and the Civil Service alpha pension, they will receive a preserved pension from alpha.

Staff who leave alpha with less than two years continuous qualifying service (across both alpha and HCAPS) will receive a choice of either a refund of their contributions or a transfer value.

Based on the current rules, staff would generally find alpha more advantageous.

Both HCAPS and Civil Service alpha pension allow members to purchase a lump sum by forgoing a portion of their pension. This will be an individual choice at the point of retirement.

Alpha's rate is fixed, allowing you to exchange £1 of pension for a £12 lump sum.

HCAPS commutation rates are subject to change and depend on age. As an example, the cost for a 66-year-old is that £1 of pension can currently be exchanged for a £15.73 lump sum.

However, the 86% higher accrual rate for alpha versus HCAPS CARE and 28% versus HCAPS CARE Enhanced (former Final Salary tier staff), means that staff should generally find alpha more advantageous, even when opting to take the maximum cash lump sum.

Scenarios relating to optional lump sums are included in the presentations and slides published on RSHnet.

Yes, we now have three webinars scheduled:

• Thursday 2 November 3.30pm to 4.30pm
• Thursday 9 November 2pm to 3pm
• Wednesday 15 November 3pm to 4pm

Please note that a webinar will be recorded and made available to all staff.

If you have a public or private sector pension from a previous job outside of the Civil Service, you may be able to transfer it into your Civil Service alpha pension.

Civil Service alpha pension must receive your signed declaration to proceed and all documents required within 12 months of the date you joined the Civil Service scheme.

Further details are available on the scheme website here: https://www.civilservicepensionscheme.org.uk/joining-the-pension-scheme/transfer-an-old-pension-into-your-civil-service-pension

Nominees of civil Service alpha pension members who die in service receive a lump sum of the higher of:

• Two times your final pay, less any lump sum payments due (or already paid) from the Civil Service Pension arrangements or
• Five times the pension you have built up, less any pension payments already made from the Civil Service Pension arrangements.

You should ensure your nomination is kept up to date.

Civil Service alpha pension members also offers a dependant’s pension (to a spouse, partner or dependent children).

Further details on death benefits are available on the scheme website here: https://www.civilservicepensionscheme.org.uk/knowledge-centre/pension-schemes/alpha-scheme-guide/death-benefits-section-06/

Civil Service alpha pension offers ill health benefits if you can become too ill to work. The level of benefits varies with many factors, and this will be covered in the Civil Service Pension Information presentation by the Government Actuary’s Department.

While you are employed by RSH, your HCAPS benefits will continue to grow as if you were an active member.

This means that staff with final salary benefits will maintain their final salary link, and staff with CARE benefits will have their pensions revalued in line with inflation. If you leave employment with RSH, your benefits will increase in accordance with HCAPS rules for deferred pensions:

• For HCAPS final salary benefits, this means benefits increased in line with inflation annually with a cap of 5%
• For CARE benefits, this means benefits increased in line with inflation annually with a cap of 2.5%

Both schemes have comparable employer contributions. Contributions currently range from 22.6% to 32.2% for HCAPS, as compared to 26.6% to 30.3% for the Civil Service alpha pension.

HCAPS benefits accrued up to 31st March 2024 will remain unaffected by this proposal. Members of the Final Salary scheme can still retire from the age of 60 without any actuarial reduction to their final salary linked benefits. However, it's important to be aware that the scheme's regulations prohibit accessing your pension benefits while you are still employed by RSH. In other words, you won't be able to access your pension at 60 if you are still employed by RSH.

Both HCAPS and alpha allow you to take early retirement with a reduced pension. Early retirement factors are set by both schemes and will change from time to time, The current reduction in pension from retiring early is higher for alpha than HCAPS, however the pension accrued is higher.

The pension calculator will allow you to see your pension benefit if you retired at 60, 63, or 65 as well if you retire at normal pension age.

“Alpha” is a career average revalued earnings (CARE) pension scheme where the pension entitlement earned in a given year is determined by the earnings in that year and is not affected by either prior or subsequent years scheme membership, If both pensions are "alpha" there will not be an impact of linking them, as both continue to increase with respect to inflation (which would be the same together as separately).

The alpha Civil Service Pension Scheme allows you to transfer in pensions from old schemes within 12 months of joining. You will need to request this and the transfer will need to have been completed within 12 months of joining the alpha scheme.

Further detail is available here: Transferring into alpha - Section 01C - Civil Service Pension Scheme

Yes. Civil Service allows you to increase / improve your pension in 3 ways:

• Starting your own individual “defined contribution” pension pot
• Buying added pension
• Paying to reduce your pension age

Further details are available at https://www.civilservicepensionscheme.org.uk/your-pension/managing-your-pension/increase-your-pension

Pensionable salary is the same for both HCAPS and alpha. Pensionable salary is your salary plus any London allowance. Non-consolidated bonus and Additional Responsibility Allowance (ARA) are not pensionable.

No. Employees will be able to create personal illustrations using the forthcoming pension calculator which will be made available via the microsite.

We anticipate that 60 days will be long enough for employees to consider the impact on themselves and ask any questions they may have. If an extension is required, then RSH will consider this.

Yes, the calculator will give options for other retirement years as estimates.

The HCAPS pension age is not changing. HCAPS (final salary section only) benefits can be taken from 60 without actuarial reduction. However, as currently, you can only draw your HCAPS pension once you stop working for RSH.

The two schemes are separate. You can access benefits at different ages depending on the rules of each scheme. Please note that, as currently, you will not be able to take HCAPS pension whilst you are employed by RSH. There are specific rules about taking you alpha pension early which are explained on the scheme website here: https://www.civilservicepensionscheme.org.uk/planning-for-retirement/what-are-my-options/partial-retirement/.

Most previous pensions are eligible for transfer to civil service alpha pension, including local authority pensions and HCAPS. There is a time restriction of 12 months to complete the transfer and other restrictions which are explained on the scheme website here: https://www.civilservicepensionscheme.org.uk/joining-the-pension-scheme/transfer-an-old-pension-into-your-civil-service-pension/

For further guidance, individual financial advice would need to be sought. RSH is unable to provide this advice. You can access this website for options on seeking financial advice: https://www.moneyhelper.org.uk/en/getting-help-and-advice/financial-advisers will help you find an appropriate adviser.

The proposed move to the Civil Service Pension Scheme does not impact the age at which HCAPS benefits can be drawn. Members of HCAPS can request their pensions early but, as currently, cannot draw their pension whilst working for RSH.

You can only take any previous civil service pensions while you are a contributing member of alpha if you are reducing salary (this is the “abatement” rule) – see: https://www.civilservicepensionscheme.org.uk/planning-for-retirement/what-are-my-options/partial-retirement/

You can only take HCAPS pension early if you leave RSH first. You can draw other pensions (e.g. from other former employers) and they will just be paid as additional income, and taxed accordingly.

In relation to your alpha pension, your two periods of service will be summed together to calculate your pension, however as your annual increase as an active and deferred member would both be linked to inflation, there would be little impact.

In relation to your HCAPS pension, as you have less than 2 years service, it is expected that the pension scheme will give you the option of 1) a cash equivalent transfer (to transfer to another scheme such as CSPS), 2) a refund of your contributions or 3) a deferred pension within HCAPS.

It is not straightforward to draw benefits from a past Civil Service Pension Scheme whilst you are accruing benefits in the Civil Service alpha scheme.

We have held a number of GAD information sessions on this topic. The slide deck will be made available on RSHnet.

When you reach the pension age of your past Civil Service Pension, your options may include:

• Wait to draw pension until you retire from RSH
• Leave RSH in order to draw previous Civil Service pension at 60 for classic, classic plus and premium or 65 for nuvos (or earlier, with a reduction)
• Opt out of the Civil Service alpha scheme - remain employed by RSH scheme and draw your previous Civil Service Pension
• Partial retirement – continue working at RSH, with reduced hours or lower grade, so that your total pension plus employment earnings after drawing your pension are not higher than earnings before taking your pension.

Further information is at: https://www.civilservicepensionscheme.org.uk/planning-for-retirement/what-are-my-options/partial-retirement/

For further guidance, individual financial advice would need to be sought. RSH is unable to provide this advice. You can access this website for options on seeking financial advice: https://www.moneyhelper.org.uk/en/getting-help-and-advice/financial-advisers/

Past benefits accrued within the Civil Service alpha scheme will not be impacted by this proposal as benefits increase by inflation in any situation.

Most previous pensions are eligible for transfer to civil service alpha pension, including local authority pensions and HCAPS. There is a time restriction of 12 months to complete the transfer and other restrictions which are explained on the scheme website here: https://www.civilservicepensionscheme.org.uk/joining-the-pension-scheme/transfer-an-old-pension-into-your-civil-service-pension/

For further guidance, individual financial advice would need to be sought. RSH is unable to provide this advice. You can access this website for options on seeking financial advice: https://www.moneyhelper.org.uk/en/getting-help-and-advice/financial-advisers will help you find an appropriate adviser

Yes, you will still be able to join the alpha scheme. If you are already receiving a Civil Service pension, then your pension in payment may be subject to abatement.

Abatement would apply if your actual RSH salary plus the pension in payment comes to more than the earlier earnings, then the pension in payment is reduced to the difference between the two earnings figures and application of cost of living increases where appropriate.

The contribution rate it based on your actual pensionable earnings in any given month - not the full-time equivalent.

The only exception to this rule is if the member is being treated as receiving assumed pay, for example because they’re on ordinary maternity leave. In this case your contribution rate is based on your earnings you would otherwise have been paid.

The ‘total reckonable service in years’ or ‘accrued CARE pension’ should be taken from your 2023 benefit statement available on OneView. These are your benefits accrued as at 6 April 2023.