Your contribution rate depends on how much you’re paid but it will be between 5.5% and 12.5% of your pensionable pay. Your employer will assess the rate of your contributions for each employment based on your actual pay. Pensionable pay is the amount of pay on which you pay contributions and has included non-contractual (as well as contractual) overtime and any additional hours worked in excess of your contractual hours since 1 April 2014.
The current pay bands, which have been operational from 1 April 2025 are:
| main scheme | 50/50 section | ||
| up to | £ 17,800.00 | 5.50% | 2.75% |
| £ 17,801.00 | £ 28,000.00 | 5.80% | 2.90% |
| £ 28,001.00 | £ 45,960.00 | 6.50% | 3.25% |
| £ 45,601.00 | £ 57,700.00 | 6.80% | 3.40% |
| £ 57,701.00 | £ 81,000.00 | 8.50% | 4.25% |
| £ 81,001.00 | £ 114,800.00 | 9.90% | 4.95% |
| £ 114,801.00 | £ 135,300.00 | 10.50% | 5.25% |
| £ 135,301.00 | £ 203,000.00 | 11.40% | 5.70% |
| £ 203,001.00 | or more | 12.50% | 6.25% |
Each April, your employer will match your actual pensionable pay to the appropriate band in the contributions table. The contribution rates and/or pay bands will be reviewed on a regular basis and may change in the future.
If your pay changes during the year, your employer may decide to review your contribution rate.
If you pay tax you will get tax relief on your contributions.
Your employer will continue to pay the balance of the cost of providing your pension benefits after taking into account investment returns.
For information about the 50/50 Section please click here
Reform of the State Pension Scheme
The State Pension changed to a simplified single tier flat rate pension on 6 April 2016, for those who will reach state pension age on or after that date. The single tier has replaced the former tiered arrangement (Basic State Pension and Additional State Pension).
The full single tier State Pension will be given to people with at least 35 years’ National Insurance (NI) contributions or credits and is currently calculated at £230.25 per week.
Although the new system is based on a single amount for everyone with at least 35 years of contributions, you may get less than the £230.25, depending on your circumstances from before April 2016.
As a member of the LGPS, if you qualify for the new State Pension you may NOT receive the full amount. This is because you have paid lower National Insurance Contributions due to being “contracted out” of the Additional State Pension while you are membership of the Local Government Pension Scheme.
Where Scheme members have contracted out membership prior to April 2016, HMRC will send a statement to them confirming who will hold responsibility for their Guaranteed Minimum Pension (GMP), in respect of any period(s) of contracted membership between 1978 and 1997. The Scheme has to guarantee that your LGPS pension will be at least equal to the State Second Pension that would have been earned if you had not been contracted out.
It should also be noted that the introduction of the new State Pension will NOT affect your LGPS benefits and that these benefits will continue to form an important part of your income in retirement.
It is difficult to describe how this reform will affect individuals as everyone’s circumstances are different; therefore the gov.uk website has provided a guide to the new State Pension which may provide you with further information.
The website can be accessed using the link below.
