The deferred pension benefits you will receive depend on your dates of membership.
If you only have membership of the LGPS on or after 1 April 2014
If you joined the LGPS on or after 1 April 2014, you will build up a pension, calculated as 1/49th of the pensionable pay you have received and paid pension contributions on, for each scheme year (from 1 April to 31 March).
Your pensionable pay is the amount of pay on which you pay your pension contributions.
The pension that you build up each year (1 April to 31 March) is added to your pension account and is revalued in line with the appropriate cost of living index each April.
Please see ‘Calculating Your Benefits’ on the Current Employees page.
If you also have membership of the LGPS before 1 April 2014
If you have membership before 1 April 2014, your pension for this period is based on your total membership built up in the Scheme and your Final Pay – the pensionable pay you receive in your final year of service or one of the two previous years’ pay if better. If your pay is reduced or restricted within 10 years of retirement, you also have the option to base your final salary benefits on the average of any 3 consecutive years pay in the last 13 years (ending on a 31 March).
If you are part time, your Scheme membership will count at its part time length when working out your pension and your Final Pay calculated on the pay you would have received if you had been working full time.
For membership built up between1 April 2008 and 31 March 2014, your deferred benefit will be calculated as follows:
Annual Pension – 1/60 x your final pay x total membership
If you also have membership prior to 1st April 2008, your pre 1st April 2008 membership provides a deferred pension and an automatic tax free lump. The deferred benefits will be calculated as follows:
Annual Pension – 1/80 x your final pay x total membership
Automatic Lump Sum – 3/80 x your final pay x total membership
The totals of each section will be added together to give you your total deferred benefit.
At retirement, you will have the option to receive up to 25% of the capital value of your pension benefits, which will include any automatic lump sum based on your membership to 31 March 2008, provided it is within the limits set by Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs (HMRC). You will receive £12.00 lump sum for each £1.00 of pension given up
Inflation Proofing
To protect their value your deferred benefits are increased in line with the Consumer Price Index (CPI) which measures price inflation. Details of the latest pensions increase can be found on the ‘Pensioners’ pages.
Payment Date
Deferred benefits normally become payable at normal pension age (equal to your state pension age or at least age 65), unless you opt to defer payment beyond that age.
It may be possible for you to receive your deferred benefits earlier as follows:
- You may elect for early payment at, or after age 55. The benefits will be subject to a reduction if paid before your normal pension age to take account of early payment, (if you joined the LGPS before 1 October 2006 you may be protected against the possible reduction of some or all of your benefits).
- You can request early payment of your deferred benefits on the grounds of ill health at any age, without reduction, if you become too ill to work. You should contact your former employer to arrange a medical, if this applies to you.
Before determining whether to agree to such a request, your former employer must obtain a certificate from an approved Independent Registered Medical Practitioner that you are permanently incapable of doing the job you were working in when you left the LGPS and you have a reduced likelihood of being capable of obtaining gainful employment within 3 years of applying for the benefit or by your normal pension age, whichever is earlier.
Gainful employment is defined as ‘paid employment for not less than 30 hours per week for a period of not less than 12 months.
Please note; if approved, your LGPS benefits will be released without any ill health enhancement.
