Patient part-timer

My client has been in receipt of a pension from the NHS for some years. Just before the end of the 2006-07 tax year she received a letter from the NHS advising her that her application for back-dated membership of their pension scheme as her employment with the NHS had been part-time had been approved.

Her scheme membership appears to have thus been extended by a back-dated period of ten years.

The cost to her in additional pension contributions was shown as £4 500; but she would receive a lump sum of £3 500 and an additional pension of £1 000 per year (all figures approximate).

On acceptance of this she subsequently received a letter advising her that the additional contributions of £4 500 had been deducted first from the lump sum and the balance of £1 000 had been deducted from the net of tax pension arrears.

The...