Location: Hybrid / Remote
Contract Type: Permanent / Fixed Term
Hours: Full-Time (37.5 hours per week)
About the Role
We are seeking an experienced NHS Pension Administrator to join our team, supporting the administration of pension within the NHS Pension Scheme.
This role focuses on end-to-end processing of advanced pension cases including retirement options, ill health cases, death in service benefits, and enhanced benefit applications. The successful candidate will ensure all cases are processed accurately, compassionately, and in line with scheme regulations, statutory requirements, and service level agreements.
This is a key role requiring strong technical pension knowledge, excellent attention to detail, and the ability to manage sensitive and complex cases.
Key Responsibilities
NHS Pension Scheme Administration (Core Casework)
- Administer complex pension scheme cases under the NHS Pension Scheme.
- Process joining and leaving the pension scheme, including opt-ins, opt-outs, and reinstatements.
- Calculate and administer Increasing Benefits (Additional Pension / Added Years / Scheme Purchases).
- Process Voluntary Early Retirement (VER) cases, ensuring accurate benefit calculations and compliance with scheme rules.
- Administer Early Retirement / Redundancy cases, including pension strain cost calculations and employer liability assessments.
- Process Ill Health Retirement (IHR) applications, including Tier 1 and Tier 2 assessments, liaising with medical advisers and HR teams.
- Administer Death in Service benefits, ensuring timely and sensitive processing of lump sum payments and survivor pension entitlements.
- Process NHS Permanent Injury Benefits, including assessment of eligibility, documentation review, and ongoing case management.
Pension Calculations & Case Management
- Calculate pension benefits, estimates, and projections for members and employers.
- Validate pensionable service, earnings, and contribution histories.
- Prepare retirement packs, benefit statements, and case documentation.
- Ensure accurate recording of pension adjustments, awards, and authorisations.
- Manage a complex caseload within agreed service levels and deadlines.
Stakeholder & Member Support
- Provide specialist advice to employees, HR teams, payroll teams, and Trust clients on pension scheme options.
- Communicate sensitive pension outcomes clearly and professionally, particularly in ill health, redundancy, and bereavement cases.
- Liaise with medical advisers, employers, and scheme administrators as required.
- Handle escalated and complex pension queries.
Compliance, Governance & Quality Assurance
- Ensure all pension casework complies with NHS Pension Scheme regulations, HMRC requirements, and data protection legislation.
- Maintain complete audit trails and accurate case documentation.
- Support internal and external audits of pension processes.
- Ensure strict adherence to governance standards for sensitive case types (IHR, death in service, injury benefits).
Continuous Improvement
- Contribute to process improvements and service enhancements.
- Support updates to pension procedures and scheme changes.
- Assist in testing and implementation of pension system updates (e.g. ESR pension modules).
- Share technical knowledge with colleagues and support training where required.
Essential Requirements
Experience
- Significant experience in NHS pension administration or public sector pension schemes.
- Experience handling complex pension casework including retirement, ill health, and death in service cases.
- Experience working within a shared service, payroll bureau, or outsourced pensions environment.
- Experience using ESR or equivalent HR/payroll systems.
Knowledge
- Strong understanding of the NHS Pension Scheme regulations and procedures.
- Knowledge of pension benefit calculations, retirement options, and scheme enhancements.
- Understanding of ill health retirement processes, redundancy provisions, and death in service entitlements.
- Awareness of Permanent Injury Benefit regulations and assessments.
- Knowledge of data protection (GDPR) and confidentiality requirements.
Skills
- High level of accuracy and attention to detail.
- Strong analytical and numerical skills.
- Ability to interpret complex pension regulations and apply them correctly.
- Excellent communication skills, particularly when dealing with sensitive situations.
- Strong organisational skills and ability to manage a high-volume, complex caseload.
- Ability to work independently and escalate appropriately when required.
Desirable Requirements
- Pension administration qualification.
- Experience specifically within NHS pension specialist casework.
- Experience handling employer cost calculations for redundancy and early retirement.
- Experience working in outsourced payroll/pension service environments.
- Knowledge of ESR pension workflows and reporting tools.
Key Performance Indicators
- Accuracy of pension calculations and case outcomes.
- Timeliness of case processing (retirement, IHR, death in service, etc.).
- Compliance with NHS Pension Scheme regulations and audit standards.
- Quality and sensitivity of communication with members and stakeholders.
- Reduction in rework or corrections due to processing errors.
What We Offer
- Competitive salary and benefits package.
- Hybrid and flexible working arrangements.
- Career progression within pensions and payroll services.
- Exposure to complex, high-impact pension casework.
- Supportive and collaborative team environment.
Ideal Candidate Profile
The ideal candidate will be a highly experienced pension administrator with strong technical knowledge of NHS scheme regulations and proven experience handling complex and sensitive casework. They will be confident managing ill health, redundancy, and death-related cases, while maintaining empathy, accuracy, and compliance at all times.
Pay: £40,000.00-£70,000.00 per year
Work Location: Remote
