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1027389

registered interest
date	17/12/2018
answering body	Department of Health and Social Care
answering dept id	17
answering dept short name	Health and Social Care
answering dept sort name	Health and Social Care
hansard heading	Nurses: Pensions
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many complaints have been received by NHS Business Services Authority in relation to the removal of the Special Class Status of nurses in each region.
tabling member constituency	Stroud
tabling member printed	Dr David Drew
uin	202699
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 20/12/2018 answer text <p>Special Class Status allows an NHS Pension Scheme member to retire from the age of 55 with an unreduced pension, was abolished for all new members from 6 March 1995. Special Class Status continues to apply to 1995 Scheme members with full protection and to 1995 Scheme/2015 Scheme transition members though only in respect of the 1995 Scheme pension benefits.</p><p> </p><p>The NHS Business Services Authority administers the NHS Pension Scheme in England and Wales has confirmed that the requested information is not readily available, and is not held on a regional basis. In order to obtain the requested information, the NHS Business Services Authority would need to manually interrogate all records for members whose employment type includes nurses, then identify those who were afforded Special Class Status. The NHS Business Services Authority would then need to identify members who are no longer afforded Special Class Status and who have made a complaint.</p> answering member constituency Wimbledon answering member printed Stephen Hammond question first answered 20/12/2018 16:20:25 answering member 1585 label Biography information for Stephen Hammond
tabling member	252 label Biography information for Dr David Drew

1027397

registered interest
date	17/12/2018
answering body	Department of Health and Social Care
answering dept id	17
answering dept short name	Health and Social Care
answering dept sort name	Health and Social Care
hansard heading	Nurses: Pensions
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether requirement were placed on the NHS Business Services Authority or its predecessor organisations to inform nurses on (a) changes to and (b) the removal of Special Class Status.
tabling member constituency	Stroud
tabling member printed	Dr David Drew
uin	202700
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 21/12/2018 answer text <p>When Special Class Status was withdrawn for new members from 6 March 1995, the NHS Pensions Agency which was an Executive Agency of the Department, issued guidance in December 1994 to inform members of changes to Special Class Status.</p><p> </p><p>It is for employers to decide locally how they communicate changes to the NHS Pension Scheme to their staff, including changes to Special Class Status. In accordance with the NHS Pension Scheme Regulations, employers are required to keep accurate and up to date local pension records and to submit an annual pension return in respect of every employee to the Scheme manager within two months of pension year end.</p><p> </p><p>At the inception of the 2015 Scheme, the NHS Business Service Authority published the following guidance on changes to Special Class Status for members moving between Schemes:</p><p> </p><p><a href="https://www.nhsbsa.nhs.uk/sites/default/files/2018-10/Special%20Class%20status%20member%20factsheet-20181017-%28V7%29%20.pdf" target="_blank">https://www.nhsbsa.nhs.uk/sites/default/files/2018-10/Special%20Class%20status%20member%20factsheet-20181017-%28V7%29%20.pdf</a></p><p> </p><p>The NHS Business Services Authority Functions Directions 2016[1] require the NHS Business Services Authority to exercise on behalf of the Secretary of State all functions relating to the NHS Pension Schemes that are conferred upon the Secretary of State, with the exception of making scheme regulations and directions. Specifically, the Directions require the NHS Business Services Authority to provide advice and guidance to employers operating within the schemes.</p><p> </p><p>Note:</p><p><sup>1</sup><a href="https://www.nhsbsa.nhs.uk/sites/default/files/2017-02/Section_2_-_B1_NHSBSA_Directions_2016.pdf" target="_blank">https://www.nhsbsa.nhs.uk/sites/default/files/2017-02/Section_2_-_B1_NHSBSA_Directions_2016.pdf</a></p><p> </p><p> </p> answering member constituency Wimbledon answering member printed Stephen Hammond question first answered 21/12/2018 13:40:27 answering member 1585 label Biography information for Stephen Hammond
tabling member	252 label Biography information for Dr David Drew

1027400

registered interest
date	17/12/2018
answering body	Department of Health and Social Care
answering dept id	17
answering dept short name	Health and Social Care
answering dept sort name	Health and Social Care
hansard heading	NHS: Pensions
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, which groups of NHS workers, excluding nurses, are entitled to Special Class Status; and whether those groups have been subject to changes to their retirement age.
tabling member constituency	Stroud
tabling member printed	Dr David Drew
uin	202701
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 21/12/2018 answer text <p>Special Class Status is a reserved right that permits eligible members of the 1995 NHS Pension Scheme to retire from age 55 with an unreduced pension. The right is available for nurses, physiotherapists, midwives, health visitors and mental health officers who joined the scheme before 6 March 1995 and have not subsequently had a break in membership of over five years. It is a conditional right, which in the case of nurses requires the individual to be employed continuously in a nursing role for the five years immediately preceding the date of retirement.</p><p> </p><p>The right was withdrawn for new members from 6 March 1995. Staff in the 1995 NHS Pension Scheme who did not acquire or satisfy the conditions for Special Class Status have a normal scheme retirement age of 60. Subsequent reforms saw new NHS Pension Schemes introduced in 2008 and 2015 with a later retirement age of 65 and state pension age respectively for all staff in those schemes.</p><p> </p><p>Upon introduction of the 2015 NHS Pension Scheme, transitional arrangements permitted staff closest to retirement to continue accruing pension in the closed 1995 Scheme. A small number of 1995 Scheme members with Special Class Status were too young to benefit from this protection and therefore transferred to the 2015 Scheme for future service. Such members can claim their 1995 Scheme pension accrued prior to transfer, on a Special Class basis from age 55 should they satisfy the conditions. The pension built up under the 2015 has a retirement age equal to the member’s state pension age.</p> answering member constituency Wimbledon answering member printed Stephen Hammond question first answered 21/12/2018 13:42:50 answering member 1585 label Biography information for Stephen Hammond
tabling member	252 label Biography information for Dr David Drew