I am writing regarding your request for information, which I received on 4 May 2023. In that request, you asked us for the following:

My understanding is that to receive a pension under the NHS Pension scheme, civil servants must have two years of qualifying service – i.e. have worked for the NHS at least two years.

If they have not, they are offered the opportunity to transfer their pension to another pension scheme or receive employer contributions back as a lump sum, subject to taxation (thus receiving less money).

1) In each of the past five tax years (or an alternative suitable time frame), can you tell me the number of staff that left the scheme without having reached the minimum qualifying criteria. If possible, can this be broken down by job type (i.e. doctor, nurse, other staff).

2) In each year, how many opted for the transfer option, and how many took the employer contributions back as cash? If there are other options, how many opted for these?

3) How do you contact scheme members to let them know of their options, and what is the policy when a scheme member does not respond?

4) In each year, how many scheme members did not respond when given these options, and how much money was sitting in their pension pots?

5) What happens to the money in these cases?

You subsequently clarified that you meant to refer to NHS Pension Scheme members instead of Civil Service Scheme members.

Response

Question 3

Information on members’ options is given on the NHSBSA’s website and through their respective Employers who should supply members who are leaving their employ with a copy of the “Leaving the Scheme and transferring Out” Guide.

Question 5

Any unclaimed benefits would remain in the Scheme.

Questions 1, 2, and 4

I can confirm that the NHS Business Services Authority (NHSBSA) holds information meeting the description specified in your request. However, to provide an answer we would have to manually interrogate around 1 million Pension files. Examining the documentation is also likely to involve a proactive administrative action/manual calculation on each of the records. It is estimated that this could take between 30 to 40 minutes per case. Additionally, proactive calculation/action does not take place under FOIA.

The interrogation would take (~35 minutes per case x 1,000,000 cases) / 60 = ~583,333 hours to complete.

Therefore, I estimate that the cost of complying with your request would exceed the non-central Government limit of £450. The limit has been specified in The Freedom of Information and Data Protection (Appropriate Limit and Fees) Regulations 2004 and represents the estimated cost of one person spending 18 hours in determining whether the NHSBSA holds the information, and locating, retrieving and extracting the information. Under Section 12 of the Freedom of Information Act, the NHSBSA is not obliged to comply with your request and I will not be processing your request further as it currently stands.