Pensions calculator

We know that the Government:

• wants you to work longer before drawing your pension and intends to align the date at which you can draw your future civil service pension with the date when you can draw your state pension.
  
• wants you to pay more for your pension and intends to progressively increase the pension contributions that you pay from April 2012.
  
• has changed the index used for the uprating of pensions from the Retail Prices Index (RPI) to the Consumer Prices Index (CPI). This will reduce the value of your pension because CPI tends to increase at a slower rate than RPI.
  
• wants to close all Final Salary Pension Schemes to future accrual and intends to transfer all civil servants into a Career Average Scheme.

But what does this mean for you?

The FDA has developed a calculator that is designed to give you a better idea of what these changes, if implemented, might mean for you. It is indicative only. At this stage it cannot be completely accurate because there is much that we do not know, e.g. the rate of accrual in any scheme, and also because the calculator is based on a range of assumptions that may not reflect your future working pattern and earnings' growth.

What the calculator can tell you

The calculator makes comparisons on the basis of 'steady state' i.e. members stay in their current scheme with no change to benefits or contribution rates, and compares this with a potential new scheme i.e. Career Average with contribution rates that have been increased in line with the Government's current plans.

The calculator allows you to enter a preferred/planned age of retirement between 60 and 65 and one of five options for an accrual rate that is the rate at which your pension may build up in the new scheme. This is normally expressed as a fraction, e.g. 1/80th of your salary for each year of service. The lower the number in the accrual rate, the bigger the build up of pension.

The calculator is designed to show three things:

1. A comparison of the pensions that could be built up in either scheme from 2015 onwards

2. A comparison of the contributions paid from 2015 onwards based on current contribution rates and anticipated contribution rates

3. The impact on pension built up from 2015, once in payment, assuming that it will be uprated by CPI rather than RPI.

The calculator does not show:

• Your accrued rights that you will build up to 2015
• The impact of the switch from RPI to CPI on your accrued rights

Please enter the required details into the calculator (explanatory information can be found by hovering your cursor over each box):

Please enter your date of birth

Please enter your (full time equivalent) salary

Please enter your grade Please Select... AO EO HEO SEO Grade 7 Grade 6 SCS 1 SCS 1A SCS 2 SCS 3 Other

(if other please state)

How many days a week do you work

Please enter your planned retirement age (60+)

Which Pension Scheme Are You In Please Select... Classic Classic plus Premium Nuvos

Select an accrual rate to see how this affects your pension in the new scheme

1/55th1/60th1/65th1/70th1/80th

Scroll down to reveal your pensions analysis

Want to know more?

The TUC launched its Pensions Justice campaign in October 2011. Their estimate of the impact of the CPI change shows the following:

The TUC has also constructed a pensions calculator. You can access the TUC calculator, get further details of the Pensions Justice Campaign and on how you can get involved at the Pensions Justice website.

Pension calculator assumptions and caveats

The FDA calculator is underpinned by a range of assumptions that you can access by clicking here.

Warning

You should not make any financial plans using the results of this calculator. It is indicative only and key elements used in the calculations could change in the event that the Government engages in meaningful negotiations with the FDA.