Welcome to the 2024 edition of the City and County of Swansea Pension Fund newsletter, which has been produced for all members receiving a pension from the City and County of Swansea Pension Fund. 

I hope that you find it informative, however should you have any comment, please do not hesitate to contact the Pension Section at the address or email at the end of this newsletter.

Pension Increase 2024

The pension increase this year will be 6.7% and will take effect from 8 April 2024.  Your LGPS pension is reviewed each April and the amount of Pension Increase is based on a Consumer Price Index as specified by the Government. This means that for your April pension, you will have 7 days at your old rate and 23 days at the new rate.  The new full monthly amount will start from May 2024.

Please note, if your pension payments started after 23 April 2023 you will usually only receive a partial increase this April as follows:

Period during which pension began	Amount of increase %
24/04/2023 – 23/05/2023	6.16
24/05/2023 – 23/06/2023	5.60
24/06/2023 – 23/07/2023	5.04
24/07/2023 – 23/08/2023	4.48
24/08/2023 – 23/09/2023	3.92
24/09/2023 – 23/10/2023	3.36
24/10/2023 – 23/11/2023	2.80
24/11/2023 – 23/12/2023	2.24
24/12/2023 – 23/01/2024	1.68
24/01/2024 – 23/02/2024	1.12
24/02/2024 – 23/03/2024	0.56

*please note: if your pension includes Guaranteed Minimum Pension (GMP) your percentage increase may be different to what is listed due to part of your increase being paid by the Department of Work and Pensions (DWP) and part of your increase being paid by the City & County of Swansea Pension Fund

My Pension Online

My Pension Online is our online portal, which will allow you to view and amend basic details on your record such as your postal address, your death grant nominees and view your annual pension.  If you would like to register for ‘My Pension Online’, please visit the website: https://pensions.swansea.gov.uk/

Unfortunately, if you are in receipt of an LGPS pension due to early retirement from the Teacher’s Scheme, you are not able to use this portal.

Pension Payment Dates 2024-25

Your pension is paid on the last banking day of each calendar month. The payment dates for the next year are listed below:

• 30 April 2024
• 31 May 2024
• 28 June 2024
• 31 July 2024
• 30 August 2024
• 30 September 2024
• 31 October 2024
• 29 November 2024
• 31 December 2024
• 31 January 2025
• 28 February 2025
• 31 March 2025

McCloud Remedy

In 2014, the LGPS changed from a final salary scheme to a career average scheme. Older members who were closer to retirement were protected from these changes. Members were protected if they met these conditions:

• born before 1 April 1957
• joined the LGPS before 1 April 2012 (or another public service pension scheme)
• under age 65 and an active member between 1 April 2014 and 31 March 2022
• took their pension straight away when they left the LGPS.

When a protected member retired, their pension fund compared the career average pension they built up before age 65 with the pension they would have built up in the final salary scheme. If the final salary pension was higher, the difference was added to their pension. This protection is called the underpin.

There were problems with the underpin. The ‘old’ rules did not guarantee that all protected members got a pension at least as good as they would have got under the final salary scheme.

The LGPS rules changed from 1 October 2023 because of the McCloud remedy. The changes are backdated to 1 April 2014, when the career average scheme started. If you qualify for underpin protection, you will be protected even if you have already left the LGPS or taken your pension. The McCloud remedy means two main changes for LGPS members:

1. Qualifying younger members are now protected by the underpin too. This removes the discrimination found in the McCloud judgment.
2. The new underpin rules are much more detailed. This means that the underpin works fairly and consistently for all protected members. If you were protected by the ‘old’ underpin rules when you took your pension before 1 October 2023, your pension might increase under the ‘new’ rules.

The new underpin rules are very complex and will affect a large number of members. As your pension fund we must review all the pensions we are paying to work out which ones will increase. Although these changes came into force from 1 October 2023, it will take some time to review all the pensions we are paying.  

Please be assured that we will contact anyone whose pension in payment will increase because of the McCloud remedy. We will only write to you if the new rules mean that your pension will increase.

If you were an active member with Swansea Pension Fund as of 1 April 2012 and 1 April 2014, this membership will provide you with protection. If not, your protection may include membership in other public sector schemes such as NHS, Civil Service, Police, Fire or Teachers. You will need to confirm membership in these schemes for us as they count towards service for the McCloud Remedy. You only need to contact us if you have had membership in other public sector schemes.

Moving House

Please notify the Pension Section if you have a change of address, please do not rely on the sharing of this information between Council Departments as this is deemed a breach of your personal data. Any returned mail will trigger a suspension of your pension payments, until the address is updated. You can change your details using our online portal, sending us an email, or writing to us. We cannot take a change of address over the telephone.

Thinking of moving abroad?

If you are planning on moving abroad you can pay your LGPS pension into an overseas bank account through Western Union. You will receive preferential exchange rates and the facility is free of charge. You will also be required to complete an annual continued eligibility check. The process is straightforward and helps us ensure that your member status has not changed and to alleviate any potential fraud.

Overpayment of pension payments

When a loved one passes away it is a very stressful and upsetting time and sometimes things get overlooked. In the event of your death, it is very important that the Pension Section is notified as soon as possible so that your pension in payment can be stopped to avoid any unnecessary overpayment. The person responsible for dealing with your affairs can contact the Pension Section on (01792) 636655 to report your death or use the Tell Us Once service when the death is registered, quoting your National Insurance number, and indicating that there is a LGPS pension in payment.

Dependent Benefits

As a pensioner member a lump sum death grant and survivor pension benefits may become payable upon your death, this depends on the date that you started to receive your pension benefits and for how long you have been receiving the payments. Please refer to our website for confirmation of survivor eligibility.

A death grant will not be payable if:

• You have reached age 75 at the time of death
• You have had your pension in payment more than 5 years if you have left the LGPS on or before 31/03/2008
• You have had your pension in payment more than 10 years if you have left the LGPS on or after 01/04/2008
• You are in receipt of a Survivor pension benefit
• Your pension with the LGPS was due to early retirement from the Teacher’s Scheme

If you have not already done so please return a completed Death Grant Expression of Wish Form to the Pension Section. You can also provide or amend your nominees using My Pension Online.

Combating Fraud/Re-employment

The Pension Fund participates in a data matching exercise called the National Fraud Initiative.  Pension records held with the City and County of Swansea Pension Fund are cross referenced with those held by the DWP to prevent overpayments and potential fraudulent payments.

Therefore, if you are or become re-employed with a local authority or an employer who participates in the LGPS and whether you decide to re-join the scheme or not you must notify both your current and former Pension Section so that they may assess the pension payment. Re-employment with another employer who does not participate in the LGPS is not affected.

Pension Scams – WARNING

Anyone can be the victim of a pension scam, no matter how financially savvy they think they are. It’s important that everyone can spot the warning signs.

Scammers are often convincingly professional, with credible websites, testimonials and materials that are hard to distinguish from the real thing. Their aim is to persuade pension savers to either transfer their entire pension savings, or release funds from it. This is often to a scheme the scammer controls.

• Reject unexpected offers
• Check who you’re dealing with
• Don’t be rushed or pressured
• Get impartial information and advice

Frequently Asked Pension Payroll Questions:

I wish to change my address or my bank account.  What do I need to do?

 All changes to your personal details must be sent in writing, quoting your pension pay number, by:

The payroll deadline is normally mid-month, if your request to change bank details arrives after the payroll deadline, your changes will be effective the following month.

If you have appointed one or more person(s) to assist you with decision making concerning health, wellbeing and financial affairs and a Lasting Power of Attorney has been published, this supporting documentation should be included with the written notification. 

I have a query on my tax code; who do I contact?

Any tax code queries need to be referred to the HM Revenue & Customs by:

I have a query on my pension payment or need a copy of my P60 – who do I contact?

You can contact the Service Centre Helpdesk on (01792) 636098. Please ask for pension payroll and quote your pension pay number when contacting this number or

typing Pension Payroll in the subject line and emailing:

ServiceCentreHelpdesk@swansea.gov.uk

Address and Contact Details