New entrants

Welcome and congratulations on your new job.

The majority of new entrants are eligible to join the Civil Service pension arrangements.  Your pension choices are to join either nuvos or partnership.  Your letter of appointment will give you the details.

You will be issued with a pension choices pack shortly after you start your new job – If you do not get this please contact your internal HR department and not the pension administrator.

Your options and making a decision

Use your PensionChoices booklet from your new entrant starter pack to work out where you are now, where you want to be tomorrow, and which scheme is going to help you get there.

You have 3 months from your start date to make your choice if you want to backdate your decision to day one.  Please complete and return the PensionChoices form in your Starter Pack even if you want to remain in nuvos, as this provides important information including nominees for death benefit and action on any other pensions you may have.

IMPORTANT: Please note that if you are on a short term contract (under 2 years) or leave under 2 years, you will not be eligible for a Civil Service pension – When somebody leaves under 2 years they are given the option of a transfer to another fund or a refund of contributions. You should not make any financial commitments on the assumption of a full refund – If you opt for a refund your contributions will first be offset to put you back into the State 2nd pensions and a deduction will also be made for National Insurance.

It’s your pension, and your choice.

Your pension is a valuable part of your pay package.  As a nuvos member you will pay a member contribution based on your pensionable earnings, towards the cost of providing your pension.  Your employer will pay a employer contribution based on your salary.

You will generally be enrolled automatically into nuvos when you start work, but you can choose to join partnership instead.  Your employer will arrange to send you a pensions Starter Pack including your PensionChoices: nuvos or partnership booklet.

Your nuvos pension offers more than just an income for you when you retire; it also provides income for your dependents when you die, and life assurance cover while you are in service.   The pension choices – an overview leaflet  provides a brief summary of the benefits offered by the nuvos and partnership schemes.

If you have been a member of the Civil Service pension arrangements before, you may be eligible for a different pension choice.  Your employer will tell you about this.

If you choose to open a partnership pension account

You need to complete the information about your chosen provider and contribution rate on the PensionChoices form in your Starter Pack.  You must also fill in your chosen pension provider’s application form and return this, with your Pension Choices form, to the address on the form. If you are not sure how to fill in the provider’s application form, you can phone them for help.

You have a choice of different providers for your partnership pension account. The providers are:

You may want to contact more than one provider so you can compare what they are offering.

Help me choose

No-one can tell you which of the two schemes is best for you. That decision is yours and will depend on your personal circumstances, but we provide information to help you make your choice.

What are the helplines and when should I use them?

The pensions administration centre for your employer operates a helpline

The helpline is unable to provide any financial advice but they do have access to member records and should be used if you have a question that is specific to your pension that you are unable to self help and find the answer to on this website. Most answers can be found in the scheme guides and should be the first place you look for information.
You should also contact the helpline if you believe your personal pension forecast or annual benefit statement is incorrect. If you have a partnership pension account you will need to contact your pension provider for partnership queries.

To find the helpline number for your organisation, select the letter that corresponds to your employer, and then your employer. This will then present the contact details of the pension administrator