Pension
 

This a question for anyone that has left the mob recently. I am due to leave the RAF later this month and as the missus is already planning what to spend my dosh on, how soon after leaving has your lump sum been paid.

Many thanks.

Mine took about 10 days.

The norm seemd to be about 1 to 3 weeks.

S_H

They are allowed to hold onto your lump sum for 30 days to make certain that you don't owe any money (LSAP, recovery charges etc)

They held mine for the full 30 then about a month late told me I owed 90 odd quid on LSAP. I ignored this (as I was pretty sure they were wrong) then another month later they thanked me for discharging the debt and released any "charge" they had on my house.

It seems that they work in 30 day steps but I was not refunded any interest on my held over lump sum and if this is done to everyone then it would add up.

Been out 9 months now and have just got my tax sorted.

Mine took 44 days. After considerable correspondance, I was repaid the 14 days (over and above the 30 days) lost interest.

Good Luck

It's 10 years ago now, but mine hit my account the next day. It didn't stay long as Mrs B had plans!

Less than a week - however, 12 months later, JPA came after me for some money that they had overpaid:mad:

Like maxburner mine reached my account on my last day of service - but that was 12 years ago.

If they could do it then why can't they do it today?

My exit date was 14 December, and the gratuit arrived in my bank account on 31 December. Not bad, I thought, considering the Christmas break.

But, after your last pay chit, stand by to receive 3 subsequent pay statements all for the marvellous sum of Zero Pounds!

Foldie

Jan 07: When I tried to check that all was well a few days before my exit date, I was referred to JPAC and told that all my pension paperwork had been lost and that a resubmitted pension and gratuity application would take at least a month to process (after which it would take another month to be actioned). I failed to actually pin anyone down to check progress as JPAC don't hold your records (the operator can pass messages to the Pensions Agency but you can't actually ring anyone there). However, my full gratuity arrived promptly within a week of my departure. According to the Pension Agency guy that eventually rang me back a week or so later, JPAC don't know anything about pensions!

Looks like most people get theirs on time - just pray you're one of the lucky ones.

N Joe

10 days for my EDP - but (as I've posted elsewhere) they carried on sending pay statements to my old unit for 2 more months until I personally phoned up the JPA 'Helpline' to get them to stop - apparently all the forms that got filled in/passed around didn't achieve this (obviously) - oh how I don't miss it!!

Left 2 days ago so will let you know how long it takes. Rang Pensions at Glasgow one day after becoming Mr, as advised by them 2 weeks previously, to be told there was no point calling till at least 10 days had gone by. There are apparently 4 stages they go through with paperwork, one before you leave and once finished, they collate something and do the other 3 stages (god knows what they are) and try to get your gratuity to you in 10 working days, 20 max <quote the guy on the phone>. Pension should come 1 calendar month after departure. Why in this day and age can a computer not have it all sorted once you put in the pension and commutation request form in the Service Leavers' Pack (had acknowledgement they received this months ago) such that they only have to check the day after you leave that you actually left, then hit 'enter'? Hey presto, one gratuity and a pension! Oh well, after 25 years in, what is another few days? Did I expect anything else??

Pension
 

My gratuity arrived in less than 3 weeks after discharge. You get no notification of when it will arrive in the bank account, so you need to keep checking. The pension was paid dead on time exactly one month to the day after I left. Life commutation took longer, as after nearly 40 years the RAF had lost my medical docs and I had to pay for another medical. However, the dosh turned up in about 3 weeks from submitting the paperwork. All in all, a better performance than JPA, which still can't sort out my pay 9 months after I left. I'd redress AMP but actually I genuinely owe them money and JPA can't work out how much. Another 5 years 3 months and it's mine to keep.

One thing that completely bemused me was the date they paid me my pension for the first time. Left on the 2nd day of the month and got my first pension payment on the 23rd...............why? Anyone know?

Mine was in the bank the day after I left.

However, that was in a time when we had real human type Admin people, and a Gen Office, so I guess all the critisisms were unwarrented back then when compared to you young 'uns and JPA ;)

Mine took 14 days after I left:ok::ok:

Look at posts #7 & #15

The system worked then.

The question that VERY Senior Officers should be answering is quite simple:


WHY DOES THE SYSTEM NOT WORK NOW!!

After some 35 years, tired of the deteriorating state of the RAF, I pulled the B&Y in 2003 having done some calculations regarding the best date and having harboured the maximum leave possible....

You MUST photocopy a calendar when you get your final date, fill in all the bank holidays and grants, then allow a day for the resettlement work shop and another for a discharge medical. Then tick off all the days backwards from your exit date until you get to the day you drive out through the main gate for the last time. Then allow another 3 or 4 days for clearing, giving back your watch and gas mask etc - and (if he can be bothered - mine wasn't) a farewell interview with Harry. That defines your last working day

Stopped working on April 4th, paid until August 7th, then as TOFO states, the next day a nice large figure appeared in my account.

My final date of service was Aug 7th and my pension date is the 28th of the month. The reason for the seemingly random date is, I gather, to spread the cost to the exchequer.

The regular pay for the first 7 days of August and the pension element for the remainder of the month were both paid on time. The whole thing was totally seamless.

But that was long before the bolleaux of JPA!

Whatever, when you receive your gratuity, transfer it asap to a savings account!!

I left a few months ago and JPA was spot on:ooh:. My last day of service was a bank holiday Saturday and the gratuity/commuted lump sum arrived 10 working days later, as advertised. Still waiting for my P45 though and, in the meantime, Darling is stinging me with emergency tax. :{

10 days to go, planning how to spend it.

Amateur.

Mine had the other half of BEagle's calander, the bit from 4 April, with my work programme mapped out - on 5 day weeks, 9-5.

As for cash flow, that too. The conservatory was ordered well in advance and the holiday all paid for up front.

I too got the payment the next day. Then, to my bank's discussed, we withdrew every sodding penny, in cash, and walked it round the corner to Nationwide where we started earning 7% immediately. The bank had offered a cheque - only 5 days to clear.

They probably had to get an extra Securicorps bank run to replace the cash. We had warned them but they had ignored it :}