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Flexible retirement options

February 2, 2024

For those staff in the NHS Pension Scheme who may be planning their retirement or whose retirement is imminent you are encouraged to consider the range of options that allow changes to the way you work without the need to leave work, and the pension scheme, completely.

Flexible retirement arrangements can benefit both staff and the Trust by supporting work-life balance and by allowing skills and valued staff to be retained whilst changing the demands of their work or working arrangements.

NHS Pension retirement flexibilities allow staff to access their pension benefits while remaining in, or returning to, the NHS workforce, with the option to build up further pension if they wish and manage their finances to best advantage in the approach to retirement.

Staff can retire gradually and work flexibly for longer, passing their skills and knowledge to colleagues, aiding succession planning, and ensuring high quality care for patients.

Options available for NHS Pension members include:

  • Step down
  • Wind down
  • Retire and return
  • Draw down
  • Late retirement enhancement
  • Early retirement reduction buy out (ERRBO)

A summary of retirement flexibilities available to staff in the NHS 1995/2008 Pension Scheme and 2015 Pension Scheme are covered below. Please visit the flexible retirement guide for more information.

Please see flexible retirement options sheet for further details.

Please visit the Pensions page on Connect for information about NHS Pension Schemes and processes.

The Trust’s retirement policy has more information about flexible retirement options including retire and return processes.