VR / Pension

[TheStrangler]

Do vr payments change once you reach the age of 55 and is this in any way related to any lump sum pension I choose to take?
About 3 years ago I was offered 38k vr. If current terms and conditions remained the same would that be roughly similar or would it be significantly less as I can now access my lump sum?
Would taking my pension lump sum before or after VR make any difference?
Thanks for any advice.

[RobertT]

Do vr payments change once you reach the age of 55 and is this in any way related to any lump sum pension I choose to take?

If you are 55+ you theoretically could be offered Early Voluntary Retirement(EVR), in which case you would get 26 weeks pay plus an enhanced pension of 37.5% of what you would have got had you worked until 65.

But you would only be offered that if the cost to RM was less than 104 weeks pay. Otherwise you would be offered Voluntary Redundancy(VR).
It comes under the MTSF2 agreement, which I’m sure is on this site somewhere.

It wouldn’t affect your pension lump sum, if anything if you were offered EVR, you may get a bigger pension lump sum.

EVR is something that may well stop altogether after the current pension scheme closes on 31st March 2018.
VR pay outs will also be on RM’s radar.

About 3 years ago I was offered 38k vr. If current terms and conditions remained the same would that be roughly similar or would it be significantly less as I can now access my lump sum?

How many weeks did that relate to? If it was less than the maximum 104 weeks VR payment, then as you’re 3 years older and with 3 more years service, your VR payment should be higher.
See the ready reckoner here.

Would taking my pension lump sum before or after VR make any difference?
Thanks for any advice.

It wouldn't mean a higher or lower VR payment, but the earlier you take you pension/lump sum before the normal retirement age, the less pension you'll get regardless of whether you take VR or not.