Returning NHS workers

[Paralytic]

I would however challenge the second point. I have played around with numbers for a £25k salary and cannot get to 85%. Best I got to was a good 10% below that.

I looked back at the illustrations I got and I see now they were based on a request to max out pension payments, including previous years allowance. In that case, the retention level can actually exceed 95%.

If the pension contributions are limited to £40K in a year, and assuming a full year contract at a good day rate (eg, £500/day), I can see that 85% would be difficult to reach.

However, with a lower level of contract rate (eg, £250/day), and £40K contributed to a pension (£833/week), then isn't it still possible to achieve a 85% retention?

[webberg]

I looked back at the illustrations I got and I see now they were based on a request to max out pension payments, including previous years allowance. In that case, the retention level can actually exceed 95%.

If the pension contributions are limited to £40K in a year, and assuming a full year contract at a good day rate (eg, £500/day), I can see that 85% would be difficult to reach.

However, with a lower level of contract rate (eg, £250/day), and £40K contributed to a pension (£833/week), then isn't it still possible to achieve a 85% retention?

A £250/day contract x 230 days? is £57,500 annualised.

How likely is a £40,000 pension contribution that requires £32,000 in cash?

Might be arithmetically possible but is practically not.

This is what really, really annoys me with umbrellas. They max out positions using totally impractical and improbable assumptions just to gain an extra 1% or 2% over perceived rivals.

There's a line in a song from a favourite band of mine that sums up this situation.

From a lie that I told
That you closed your eyes and you chose to believe

For so long as individual contractors chose to believe that such high retention values are possible, they will be tempted by the advertising spin.

(The band is The Airborne Toxic Event and the song is Bride and Groom)

[Paralytic]

A £250/day contract x 230 days? is £57,500 annualised.

How likely is a £40,000 pension contribution that requires £32,000 in cash?

Might be arithmetically possible but is practically not.

This is what really, really annoys me with umbrellas. They max out positions using totally impractical and improbable assumptions just to gain an extra 1% or 2% over perceived rivals.

Agreed, and that was my point. It is valid that someone could chose to put £40K into their pension and take £17,500 as salary.

So, the 85% line is not wrong and we can't assume any one scheme is "dodgy" without seeing details. It could just be they've used underhand marketing to lure people in.

But I do think that site is just an aggregator/introducer, so are probably just taking the highest % that any of their affiliates advertise.

[webberg]

Agreed, and that was my point. It is valid that someone could chose to put £40K into their pension and take £17,500 as salary.

So, the 85% line is not wrong and we can't assume any one scheme is "dodgy" without seeing details. It could just be they've used underhand marketing to lure people in.

But I do think that site is just an aggregator/introducer, so are probably just taking the highest % that any of their affiliates advertise.

I'd like to meet that one person in the UK who would be able to put £32,000 cash into a pension, £1,000 in tax, perhaps another £1,000 in NIC, perhaps £1,500 in umbrella fees, leaving £20,000 before travelling to work and buying groceries for a year.

Advertising standards require ads to be reasonable, honest and not misleading. I'm sticking to my guns to say that the webpages are misleading.