From 1 April 2012, 15 separate public sector pension schemes were unified into one Defined Benefit scheme. The Public Sector Pension Authority administer the scheme.
New joiners from that date join the final salary Standard Section 1 of the Government Unified Scheme (GUS) and pay a contribution of 7.5% of salary. Tax relief is available on the contributions.
Doctors who had been members of the Isle of Man scheme before 1 April 2012 are able to maintain protected membership of various sections which provide a greater accrual rate than Section 1 of GUS.
The sections break down as follows:
- membership of Section 2 is for officers from the 2007 section of the NHS pension scheme
- section 4 is for officers from the 2008 section of the NHS pension scheme
- section 5 is for GPs from the 2007 section of the NHS pension scheme
- section 6 is for GPs from the 2008 section of the NHS pension scheme.
Members in these protected categories pay a higher contribution rate to retain their protected method of accrual.
Contribution rates for the protected sections are:
| Section | April 2018 | April 2019 | April 2020 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | 10.6% | 11.6% | 12.1% |
| 3 | 10.5%% | 11.5% | 12.25% |
| 4 | 7.6% | 8.6% | 9.1% |
| 5 | 10.5% | 11.5% | 12% |
| 6 | 9.4% | 10.4% | 10.9% |
| 7 | 12% | 13% | 13.5% |
The Standard Section of GUS enables members to select a Normal Pension Age between ages 55 and 75.
The scheme provides an annual pension and the ability to give up annual pension in favour of a lump sum by commutation. Up to 30% of benefits can be commuted in favour of an increased lump sum at a rate of £18 of annual pension given up in favour of £1 of tax free lump sum. The Unified Scheme calculates the maximum lump sum, as being approximately 5.8 times of pension.
Accrual of benefits is based on years of service and final salary with the accrual rate based on which section you are in and when you retire.
Details of the accrual rates can be found in the table below:
Accrual rates
| Number | Growth rate | |
|---|---|---|
| Standard section | 1 | 55 - 0.81%
60 - 1.16% 65 - 1.5% 70 - 2.03% 75 2.55% |
| Protected section | 2 | 55 - 1.12%
60 - 1.46% 65 - 1.9% 70 - 2.56% 75 3.23% |
| Protected section | 3 | 55 - 1.29%
60 - 1.67% 65 - 2.17% 70 - 2.93% 75 3.69% |
| Protected section | 4 | 55 - 0.9%
60 - 1.29% 65 - 1.67% 70 - 2.25% 75 - 2.84% |
| Protected section | 5 | 55 - 1.26%
60 - 1.63% 65 - 2.12% 70 - 2.86% 75 - 3.6% |
| Protected section | 6 | 55 - 1.01%
60 - 1.44% 65 - 1.87% 70 - 2.52% 75 3.18% |
| Protected section | 7 | 2.23% (approximately 1/45th) |
| Protected section | 8 | 65 - 2% |
| Protected section | 8a | 60 - 2.5% |
| Protected section | 9 | 65 - 2% |
For members in Sections 1 to 7, the pension accrued from pensionable service from 1 April 2017 will be reduced by 6% ( x 94%).
GP members protected in Sections 5 and 6 have their Career Average Revalued Earnings calculated with reference to their uprated total career earnings divided by the number of years worked to produce a final pensionable pay figure used to calculate benefits.
You can find more details from:
- the Isle of Man Government's Supplementary guide for practitioners
- the Isle of Man Government website.
From 1 June 2023 new joiners (excluding retired and returners) have the alternative option of contributing to a Defined Contribution scheme provided by Aviva rather than to the Defined Benefit scheme as provided by GUS. More details on this can be found on the Isle of Man Government's website here.
For more information visit the PSPA website at www.pspa.im.
Contact the Unified Scheme administrators at the PSPA: Email: [email protected].
Write to:
PSPA
Prospect House
27-29 Prospect Hill
Douglas
ISLE OF MAN
IM1 1ET
Tel: 01624 685598