Flexible Working Retirement Guidance

1.1 The guidance applies to all employees of the University who are active members of either the Universities Superannuation Scheme (USS) or the Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS) (‘the pension schemes’).
 
1.2 For the purposes of this guidance, the term active member refers to all University staff of any grade, irrespective of their contracted hours (full time of part time).

2.1 Flexible retirement is a provision under the respective pension scheme regulations that enables employees to draw on their pension whilst remaining in employment. It also allows them to continue to accrue pension benefit if they choose to.

 
2.2 Information relating to flexible retirement can be found on the USS and LGPS websites, links to these can be found at the bottom of the page. 

3.1 The University is committed to endeavouring to provide all staff with a work/life balance and, wherever practicable, implementing flexible working arrangements in support of this aim. It is therefore recognised that flexible retirement, under the provisions of the relevant pension schemes to which University staff may belong, may be attractive to some members of staff over the age of 55.

4.1 A member of the USS (whether in the final salary scheme or the CARE scheme), with at least 2 years of qualifying membership in the scheme, can apply for flexible retirement from the age of 55.

4.2 Qualifying service in USS can be gained at other employers. It is therefore possible for someone who has worked for Loughborough University for less than two years to be eligible if they have previous membership with another employer. 

4.3 They may reduce their working hours by at least 40% on a maximum of two occasions.

4.4 Under the scheme rules, after the second reduction, an active member cannot reduce their hours any further, only fully retire.

4.5 The employee must obtain consent from the employer for the reduction in hours of work and the payment of pension benefits.

5.1 A member of the LGPS, with at least 2 years of qualifying membership in the scheme, can apply for flexible retirement from the age of 55.

5.2 They may reduce their working hours by at least 40% on a maximum of two occasions.

5.3 In addition, they may be able to apply for flexible retirement if they move to a less senior position (i.e. a post of a lower grade).

5.4 The employee must obtain consent from the employer for the reduction in hours of work and the payment of pension benefits.

6.1 Employees wishing to apply for flexible retirement should speak to their line manager in the first instance. In so doing, they should set out:

• The number of hours by which they wish to reduce keeping in mind the minimum requirements detailed above 
• Their proposed revised working pattern.
• Their preferred duration of the arrangement.

6.2 Employees should have thought carefully about the operational impacts of their reduction in hours will have on the team, department or school and how these can be addressed.

6.3 If the line manager is supportive of the request, the matter should be referred to the Dean/Director of Service and if they support the request, a submission must be made to Operations Committee (regardless of the grade of the individual and of the backfill arrangements).

6.4 The submission to Operations Committee must include a statement of how the reduction in hours will be accommodated to ensure that the needs of the team/department/school are not adversely impacted. If this is not considered satisfactory, then the request will be refused.

6.5 Operations Committee will consider all requests for flexible retirement in line with the commitments set out in 1.1 above. In addition, to ensure operational efficiency, Operations Committee will normally apply the following principles:

• Flexible retirement arrangements should normally be agreed on a fixed term basis, i.e. arrangements where an individual reduces their hours for an indefinite period will not normally be permitted. This means that at the end of the agreed period(s) of reduced hours, the individual will retire. If an employee is not willing to agree to this, then the flexible retirement request will not normally be granted.
• Any backfill arrangements must be cost and FTE neutral.
• Any capital costs associated to the retirement must be reasonable and affordable within University budgets.

6.6 If approval is granted by Operations Committee, the employee will be expected to write to confirm their intention to reduce their hours and consequently to confirm their retirement at the end of the agreed period. A minimum 3 months’ notice must be given. As well as this aiding succession planning, this is also a requirement of the pension schemes. 

6.7 The agreed start date for the reduction in hours will take into consideration any pension scheme rules and also the arrangements for the recruitment of any backfill positions.

6.8 An employee who is unhappy with the outcome of their application for flexible retirement may appeal in accordance with the appeal process set out in the appropriate grievance procedure.

6.9 An employee who has already reduced their hours through the flexible retirement scheme may apply to reduce their hours further (subject to the constraints of the relevant pension scheme) in accordance with the procedure set out above.

7.1 In some circumstances there may be a cost associated with the flexible retirement. This might be due to pension release costs or because a backfill is required, If this is the case, the following process should be followed.

7.2 Identify whether such costs can be mitigated.

7.3 If they cannot be mitigated, flexible retirement is unlikely to be approved by Operations Committee. However, other options such as a reduction in hours can be considered.

7.4 If they can be mitigated, a case for flexible retirement can be made to Operations Committee for consideration.

7.5 Requests to Operations Committee for flexible retirement funding can be made, but only in exceptional circumstances.

7.6 The HR Business Partnering team should be consulted prior to any case being submitted to Operations Committee to advise on whether there is a sufficient business case to take forward.

8.1 If there is no cost to the University, the manager may inform the employee they can proceed, if they wish, with formally applying for flexible retirement, providing the request is still supported at that stage from an operational persepctive.

8.2 Requests may be put on hold should the employee be the subject of the disciplinary or capability procedure.

9.1 To aid effective succession planning, it is expected that the flexible retirement period between the enactment date and the full retirement date will not exceed two years.

9.2 Flexible retirement periods of more than two years will only be considered in exceptional circumstances

9.3 The University will not consider retrospective applications from employees who have already reduced their hours.

9.4 The University will normally only accept one application for flexible retirement in any 12-month period, except in exceptional circumstances.

9.5 The right to request flexible retirement under this guidance is separate from the statutory right to request flexible working covered under the University’s flexible working guidance.

9.6 The right to request flexible retirement under this guidance is also separate from ill health retirement for those members of staff who become permanently incapable of discharging their duties due to a chronic health condition.

9.7 For members of LGPS, hours cannot be increased, once reduced, by any means, including overtime, except in exceptional circumstances to cope with peaks in workload. This should be agreed in advance with the Dean or Director for no more than three months in a rolling twelve-month period.

9.8 For members of USS, following a reduction in hours for flexible retirement, the scheme rules provide that they cannot increase their hours for at least 12 months. The only exception to this is for a legitimate change in role (changing position through a restructure for example).

9.9 An employee can withdraw their application at any stage, in writing, at any point prior to the commencement of the reduced hours.