BUCKINGHAMSHIRE COUNTY COUNCIL RETIREMENT POLICY AND PROCEDURE FOR SCHOOLS (EXCLUDING TEACHERS)

Transcription

1 BUCKINGHAMSHIRE COUNTY COUNCIL RETIREMENT POLICY AND PROCEDURE FOR SCHOOLS (EXCLUDING TEACHERS) Adopted for DCHS by Personnel Committee 7 th June 2011 Version 2 1 of 9 Revised March 2011

2 CONTENTS Page 1. Introduction 3 2. Scope 3 3. Roles and Responsibilities Principles 5 5. Retirement Options 5.1 Early Retirement 5.2 Phased Early Retirement 5.3 Early Retirement - Redundancy 5.4 Early Retirement Business Efficiency 5.5 Ill-Health Retirement Procedure to Apply for Early Retirement and/or Phased Early Retirement 7. Appeal Process Version 2 2 of 9 Revised March 2011

3 1. INTRODUCTION 1.1 This document sets out the School s Policy on Retirement and the procedure to be applied when an employee is approaching retirement. 1.2 The Council/Governing Body recognises that retirement is a life-changing event and is committed to providing flexible working options to employees. 1.3 In certain circumstances retirement can be something that has been imposed, based on personal circumstances such as ill-health. For others it is something that is looked forward to as a new challenge and provides an opportunity to move out of a demanding professional role and make a major life change. 1.4 The general principles of this policy apply to both employees that are members of the Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS) and those that are not. 2. SCOPE 2.1 This policy applies to: All Buckinghamshire County Council employees in Schools, employed under the terms of Bucks Pay Employment Conditions 2.2 This policy does not apply to: Teachers employed in Buckinghamshire Schools who are members of the Teachers Pension Scheme. Teachers should refer to the Retirement for Teachers Policy and Procedure if the School/Governing Body has adopted this policy 3. ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES Both Headteachers/line managers and employees have a responsibility within this procedure. Version 2 3 of 9 Revised March 2011

4 3.1 Headteachers/Line Managers will: Ensure employees are aware of the advice and guidance available to them if they are considering retirement. The correct time for advice will depend on the employee s circumstances and when they plan to retire (see the Toolkit for further guidance) Sensitively manage the process to minimise stress to employees Ensure that objective criteria is applied when deciding whether or not to agree a flexible retirement request When considering a decision about retirement, take full account of the requirement to balance the needs of the employee with the operational needs of the School Investigate, review and be fully aware of any likely costs to the Council/School/Governing Body as a result of agreeing to early/phased retirement. (see the Toolkit for further guidance) Seek advice from their HR contact as early as possible in the process and keep HR informed throughout 3.2 Employees will: Ensure they fully understand the implications of retirement, personally, professionally and financially Seek advice from an independent financial adviser, or their professional association representative if applicable in regards to financial implications of retirement Ensure they seek information from the Council Pensions Team if they are a member of the Local Government Pension Scheme, obtaining estimates of pension benefits before making any retirement decisions. Please note that the Pensions Team do not provide estimates to employees directly unless they are over the age of 60. Estimates will be provided to Headteachers/line managers for those employees under the age of 60 Complete relevant paperwork in a timely manner in order to request the desired retirement option and consequentially obtain pension benefits where applicable Version 2 4 of 9 Revised March 2011

5 4. PRINCIPLES 4.1 The policy and procedures contained within this document are founded on the following principles: To remain an excellent employer of choice by providing employees with options and flexibility around retirement and by valuing their diverse contributions The Council/School will benefit from flexible retirement options by retaining knowledge and skills which can be transferred to others Not to discriminate against any individual in the application of this guidance on any grounds including grounds of sex, race, trade union activities, disability, age, sexual orientation, trans-gender status, religion, belief or any other personal characteristic or quality 5. RETIREMENT OPTIONS 5.1 Early Retirement Employees who are members of the LGPS are able to request retirement as early as age 55 up to the eve of their 75 th birthday but must have permission from the Council/Governing Body to withdraw benefits before the age of 60. Retiring early will mean that benefits are reduced to take account of being paid for longer and the amount of the reduction will depend on how early the employee retires. This is also known as Actuarially Reduced Benefits (A.R.B.) 5.2 Phased Early Retirement (also known as Flexible Retirement) Employees from the age of 55 are able to request phased early retirement i.e. a reduction in hours and/or grade. In the case of members of the LGPS requests must involve a reduction in pensionable salary of between 30% and 60% either through reduced hours and/or grade. Employees who are members of the LGPS may claim their pension benefits early and continue working with reduced hours and/or grade, subject to relevant authorisation as outlined on the Estimate of Benefits Request form. Version 2 5 of 9 Revised March 2011

6 All requests must be able to demonstrate a business benefit to the Council in terms of retention of valuable skills and knowledge. Each request will be considered on its own merits and only be agreed if it is in the Council s/governing Body s economic and/or operational interests to do so. Phased early retirement is only available to employees continuing in their current post. This ensures maximum benefit to the School through retention of acquired skills and experience. Employees requesting phased early retirement must be aware of the implications financially of such a decision as their pension will normally be actuarially reduced if paid early, as referred to in Section 5.4 above. In the event that redundancy payments are made to an employee that has a reduced salary as a result of a reduction in hours and/or responsibility of post, employees should be aware that redundancy pay would be calculated using the rate of salary on the date of the redundancy notification and not on the salary prior to the change in working pattern. Once Early Phased Retirement is granted, an employee cannot apply for a future position that may result in either an increase in hours or a higher grade. If an employee is found to have increased their hours they may be liable to a proportion of the costs incurred for any pension strain incurred by the Council/Governing Body following the acceptance of their original request. 5.3 Early Retirement: Redundancy (for members of the LGPS) Where an employee is aged 55 or over, early retirement on the grounds of redundancy may be applicable. As with Early Retirement on the grounds of efficiency, the employee would be entitled to immediate payment of pension benefits with no reduction. Please see the School s Redundancy Policy for further information. Version 2 6 of 9 Revised March 2011

7 5.4 Early Retirement: Efficiency (for members of the LGPS) Where an employee is aged 55 or over early retirement may be approved in the interests of the efficient exercise of the Council s/governing Body s services. Where Early Retirement on the grounds of efficiency is approved the employee is entitled to immediate payment of pension benefits with no reduction on account of the payment being early. 5.5 Ill-Health Retirement (for members of the LGPS) Ill-health retirement may apply when the Council/Governing Body, based on an opinion from an independent occupational health doctor, is satisfied that an employee will be permanently unable to do their own job and that they will have a reduced likelihood of being capable of obtaining gainful employment. All other routes to help employees remain in work must have been fully explored and exhausted. These routes can include redeployment, part-time working, a transfer to a post of lesser responsibility or consideration of other workplace adjustments. The Council/Governing Body recognises that ill-health retirement requires specialist support from Occupational Health and Human Resources in accordance with the following policies: Health & Attendance Capability (Please see the Toolkit for more information details on Ill-Health Retirement). 6. PROCEDURE TO APPLY FOR EARLY RETIREMENT AND/OR PHASED EARLY RETIREMENT Employees from the age of 55 may request early and/or phased early retirement subject to their Headteacher s/line manager s agreement. Employees who are members of the LGPS may be able to claim all or part of their pension benefits from the age of 55, subject to their Headteacher s/line manager s agreement. Version 2 7 of 9 Revised March 2011

8 Employees interested in any of these options should complete the Flexible Retirement Request Form and discuss their request with their Headteacher/line manager. Where an employee who is over the age of 60 wishes to retire, they are able to resign in writing to their Headteacher/manager, stating early retirement as the reason for resignation. In the case of employees who are not members of the LGPS, the Flexible Retirement Request form should still be completed and if the manager and employee agree to proceed further, the form must be signed off by the Headteacher/Chair of Governors. Where the Headteacher/line manager agrees to proceed further with a request from a member of the LGPS, who is under the age of 60, they will apply on behalf of the employee, to the Authority s Pensions Team for an estimate of benefits and pension strain, if any, using the Estimate of Benefits form. Pension strain is the cost to the Council of paying the pension early. A copy of this request should also go to HR Operations for reference. Any cost incurred to the organisation through pension strain must be affordable and within existing School budgets. Where this is not achievable, the manager should prepare and submit a supplementary plan with the phased early retirement proposal to the Headteacher/Chair of Governors, Head of Human Resources and Head of Finance. The plan should detail how any cost will be recovered. To help offset any pension strain to the Council/Governing Body, the employee must agree to remain in employment with the Council/Governing Body for a minimum period of one year or to age 60 if earlier, or repay a portion of the pension strain if they fail to do so. On receipt of the estimate of benefit or pension strain, if the Headteacher/manager and employee agree to proceed, the Request Form must be signed off by the Chair of Governors, the Head of Human Resources and additionally, the Head of Finance where there is a pension strain and a supplementary plan has been produced and agreed. (see Toolkit for further guidance). Version 2 8 of 9 Revised March 2011

9 In all cases, once the flexible request form has been signed off by the appropriate Senior Manager, the line manager will inform the employee and confirm the decision in writing (Model Letter 3). If the application is successful the line manager will be required to complete a Notification of Change form to notify Human Resources. 7. APPEAL PROCESS (where requests are refused) The employee can appeal the decision within 10 working days where there has been a need to refuse the flexible retirement request. The 10 working days is effective from the receipt of the written decision letter from the line manager. Review Date: June 2013 Version 2 9 of 9 Revised March 2011