The Retirement Process

Transcription

1 The Retirement Process November 2017 Shropshire County Pension Fund

2 Welcome Along with this retirement process booklet you will find: A Pensions Increase booklet Retirement Form 1: Personal Details, payment and commutation Retirement Form 2: Other pension benefits and recycling of retirement grant declaration Retirement Form 3: Option to take a small pension benefit as a lump sum. (This form is only provided to members who meet the criteria. If applicable, this option will be covered in your letter and it is fund policy that the benefits will then be paid as a one off lump sum). Please be aware that these forms will only be included if you are about to take your pension benefits. The information contained in this booklet is provided to help guide you through the retirement process and explain how your benefits are calculated. However these notes are for guidance only and cannot be treated as a statement of law. This guide cannot cover every personal circumstance and does not cover all members e.g. those whose total pension benefits exceed the Lifetime Allowance, or those whose rights are subject to a Pension Sharing Order following divorce or dissolution of a civil partnership. We hope you find the information useful, however, if you have any queries please do not hesitate to contact Pension Services. Details of how to contact us can be found on page 15 of this booklet. You will be issued with a payroll number once your pension is in payment. Please quote this in any future correspondence, including your NI number. This guide does not confer any contractual or statutory rights and is provided for information purposes only. If you, or someone you know, would like this publication in large print, Braille, on audio tape, or translated to a different language, please get in touch with us. Finally, we would like to wish you a long and happy retirement. 2 Shropshire County Pension Fund

3 Contents P04. The Retirement Process Four steps P05. Completing Retirement Forms Retirement Form 1: Personal Details, payment and commutation form Retirement Form 2: Other pension benefits and recycling of retirement grant declaration Retirement Form 3: Option to take a small pension benefit as a lump sum P12. Frequently Asked Questions How will my pension be paid? What if I decide to live abroad? When will I receive my first pension payment? Will I pay tax on my pension? What if I change my address or my bank details? What if I get another job after I retire? Where can I obtain financial advice from? What benefits will be paid if I die after retiring on pension? How to notify the fund of a death? P06. Data Protection P13. Your State Pension P07. How Are My Benefits Worked Out? Membership up to 31 March 2008 Final Salary Membership between 1 April 2008 and 31 March 2014 Calculating Scheme Membership up until 31 March 2014 Retiring early and drawing immediate benefits Redundancy / Efficiency Ill Health Flexible Retirement P13. Communications In TOUCH Retired Members Meeting Annual Meeting P14. Will I receive a payslip? P15. Dispute Procedure P09. Benefits from additional contributions Additional Voluntary Contributions (AVCs) Added Years Additional Regular Contributions (ARCs) Additional Pension Contributions (APCs) P10. Freedom and Choice P11. Pension Increase P15. How to contact us P15. Useful Information and Organisations State Pension // Tax Office // Prudential // Equitable Life // Pensions Credit // Citizens advice // Age Concern // Help the aged // The Pensions Regulator // The Pension Tracing Service // Pensions Ombudsman // Pensions Ombudsman Shropshire County Pension Fund 3

4 The Retirement Process Brief Overview Now that you are retiring from work you will want to know what happens with your Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS) benefits. The following steps show you a brief overview of the process: Your employer needs to send the Pensions Team a leavers form. This provides us with the pay figure needed to calculate your pension benefits. Please be aware that your employer will not be able to supply us with this form until your final salary/wage has been made, this includes any payments made in arrears. Once the leavers form has been received by the Pensions Team, your pension benefits will be calculated using the pay information supplied by your employer. A letter, including retirement forms to be completed, will be sent out to you with all the benefit options available on retirement. You may also be asked to provide birth and/or marriage certificates if applicable Once your completed forms have been received, the Pensions Team will do a final calculation of your pension benefits and a letter will be sent out confirming your annual pension and payment date of your lump sum retirement grant (if applicable). A final letter will be sent out confirming your payroll number, the date your first pension payment will be made and how to access your payslips/p60s online. Please note, if not all of your forms have been returned, or they have been completed incorrectly this may delay the payment your benefits. Pensions are paid on the 29th of each month, or on the last banking day before this if the 29th falls on a weekend or bank holiday. 4 Shropshire County Pension Fund

5 Completing Retirement Forms Retirement Form 1: Personal and bank details. Please complete the bank details form as thoroughly as possible remembering to include your eight digit account number and your six digit sort code. If a building society, please include your roll reference. Please also indicate on this form your marital status and include your birth certificate, your spouse s birth certificate (if applicable) and your marriage or civil registration certificate (if applicable) or decree absolute if you are divorced. We can only accept original certificates. If we have already seen your certificates, we will indicate this on your form. Please remember to give us your address in the box indicated on the form so you will be able to view your payslips online. We will also keep you up to date in your retirement with pensions news and events. Your address will not be shared with any other organisation unless carrying out an administrative function of the Fund. It is advised that all certificates are posted by either recorded or special delivery, as they will be returned in the same way. Shropshire County Pension Fund is not liable for any certificates that may be lost or delayed in the postal system and it is at your own risk if you choose to send certificates by 1st or 2nd class delivery. If you want to bring the certificates in for verification Shropshire County Pension Fund operates an open drop in service at the Shirehall, Shrewsbury, Abbey Foregate, SY2 6ND. Commutation Option. You will notice from the letter accompanying this booklet that you have the option of giving up some of your pension to increase your lump sum. Subject to Her Majesty s Revenue and Customs (HMRC) limits you can commute pension to lump sum at the ratio of 1 to 12. This means that for every 1 of pension you give up you will receive 12 of lump sum. The letter accompanying this booklet will show you the maximum amount you can commute. You can commute any amount between 1 and the maximum figure provided. Please note that if you decide to commute your pension to increase your lump sum, you are permanently reducing your annual pension, but it will not reduce any spouses/partners benefits that may be payable. The lump sum is tax free. Retirement Form 2: Other pension benefits in payment. As part of form 2 you are required to disclose details of pension benefits from other providers. This is because HMRC restricts pension benefits to a certain value each year, known as the Lifetime Allowance, before a tax charge becomes due (other than income tax). The lifetime allowance was reduced to 1m from April Your pension benefits from the Shropshire County Pension Fund (SCPF) will count towards your allowance and the percentage used will be shown in your retirement letter. Providing this percentage together with any other pension benefits does not exceed 100%, no additional tax charge is due. Under HMRC regulations you must complete the enclosed declaration form (Retirement form 2) to confirm your total benefits from all sources. Your benefits from the Local Government Pension Scheme cannot be paid until this form is completed and returned. You must provide details of ALL benefits, such as personal pensions, stakeholder pensions, free standing AVCs, and occupational pensions (including other local government pensions) which are in payment on or before your retirement date. You do not need to include your State Pension, Pension Credit or any benefit entitlement following a death (such as a spouse s, civil partner s or dependant s pension). Do not include benefits that are payable after the retirement date shown in your letter as these benefits will be tested against the Lifetime Allowance at the time they are taken. Please note the overseas transfer box must be completed. Recycling of retirement grant. If you intend to use part, or all of your pension lump sum to fund additional contributions to a pension scheme, or to any other pension arrangement, this is known as recycling and special tax rules may apply. If you break the recycling rules you will have to pay a tax charge of between 40% and 55% of the value of your pension lump sum. The recycling rules will not affect you in the following circumstances: If your pension lump sum together with any other pension lump sum paid in the preceding 12 months is less than: 7,500 (for benefits taken on or after 6 April 2015), or 1% of the standard lifetime allowance (for benefits taken before 6 April 2015) and the cumulative amount of the additional contributions exceeds 30% of the pension commencement lump sum. Furthermore, if you increase your contributions in the two tax years up to your retirement as well as in the tax year that your pension lump sum is paid, you may fall foul of the recycling rule if, for example you use the lump sum to replenish savings that you have used to make contributions to a pension arrangement and this was preplanned. You can find guidance on recycling on the website: HMRC has the power to look into individual cases to see if the recycling rules have been broken. If after reading the guidance notes you are still unsure Shropshire County Pension Fund 5

6 Completing Retirement Forms Data Protection whether the recycling rules affect you, you should speak to an independent financial advisor or contact HMRC on: Retirement Form 3: Trivial Commutation and small pensions (This form will only be sent if this option may be available to you). The capitalised value of your Shropshire County Pension Fund (SCPF) pension is: 20 x your annual pension plus your lump sum (if any) plus your in-house AVC Fund (if any). If the capitalised value of your SCPF benefits is very small (so that they count as a trivial amount under HMRC rules), this would enable us to pay all of your benefits to you as a one-off lump sum. This is called Trivial Commutation. However, before we can confirm if your benefits fall under the limit we need information regarding other pensions that are not yet in payment. This is because while your SCPF benefits may be below the limit, other pension benefits may take you over the limit. It is SCPF s policy to trivially commute all pension that falls below the HMRC limits. More information on Trivial Commutation can be found on page 9 under How are my benefits worked out? Section C In our letter we would give you at least 2 trivial commutation options options: To protect any personal information held electronically the Administering Authority is registered under the Data Protection Act This allows members to check that their details held are accurate. The Fund may, if it chooses, pass certain details to a third party if the third party is carrying out an administrative function of the Fund. Members who wish to apply to access their data on data protection grounds should contact the Data Protection Officer on: Shropshire Council is the Administering Authority for the SCPF and is registered with the Information Commissioner s Office as a Data Controller. Your information is processed for the sole purpose of administering your pension. Your personal details will be retained to establish any future entitlement to benefits. The Fund may, if it chooses, pass certain details to a third party, where the third party is carrying out an administrative function of the Fund or where we are legally obliged to do so. Members who wish to see a copy of information held about them by the SCPF should make a subject access request under the Data Protection Act 1998 to the Information Governance Team at Shropshire Council. For details ring: or information.governance@shropshire.gov.uk Or visit the website at: Uncrystallised pension benefits: (which means that instead of paying you a retirement grant, if applicable, and then the commutation your pension benefits, all of your pension and lump sum are used to calculate the one off payment). 25% of this figure is tax free and the remainder is taxable. If you wish to take this option, please tick I do not wish to commute any of my annual pension on form 1 and tick uncrystallised pension on form 3. Maximum Retirement Grant: If you wish to take the maximum retirement grant and then commute your annual pension into a one off taxable lump sum, please tick I wish to commute the maximum annual pension allowed to increase my retirement grant on Form 1 and tick option 3 on Form 3. If you have service before 31st March 2008 you are entitled to an automatic retirement grant and have a third option which is outlined below. Standard Retirement Grant: If you wish to take your standard retirement grant (which is tax free) and then commute your pension into a one off lump sum, please tick I do not wish to commute any of my annual pension on Form 1 and tick option 2 on Form 3. 6 Shropshire County Pension Fund

7 How are my benefits worked out? Your Local Government Pension Scheme retirement benefits are made up of: An annual pension paid monthly, and A tax-free lump sum paid on retirement. (Only automatic for members with membership before 1 April 2008) Your LGPS benefits will be worked out as follows: Membership up to 31 March 2008 Membership in this period is built up in the Final Salary Scheme and calculated according to length of membership and your final pay as at the end of the membership. For each year of membership, your retirement benefits will be based on 1/80th of your final pay so if you had 20 years full time membership up to 31 March 2008, you would get 20/80ths or one quarter of your final pay as an annual pension, plus an automatic lump sum of three times your pension. The calculation is as follows: Annual pension = 1/80 x period of membership x final pensionable pay (pre 2014 definition) Automatic tax free lump sum = 3/80 x period of membership x final pensionable pay (pre 2014 definition) Final Salary Membership between 1 April 2008 and 31 March 2014 Membership in this period is built up in the Final Salary Scheme and calculated according to length of membership and final pay as at the end of the membership. For each year of membership from 1 April 2008 to 31 March 2014 your retirement benefits will be based on 1/60th of your final pay so if you have 6 years full time membership from 1 April 2008, you will get 6/60ths or one tenth of your final pay as an annual pension. There is no automatic lump sum, but you can commute some of your total annual pension into a lump sum. For every 1 of pension commuted you would receive 12 lump sum. The calculation is as follows: Annual pension = 1/60 x period of membership x final pensionable pay (pre 2014 definition) Calculating Scheme Membership up until 31 March 2014 The first element used in working out your benefits is your total scheme membership. This normally includes: Your membership of the Local Government Pension scheme worked out in years and days not including membership for which you already receive a Local Government pension or deferred benefit (See below if you are part time) If you have worked part-time your membership is reduced to its part-time equivalent length to calculate retirement benefits, although calendar length is used to decide if you are eligible for a benefit. Membership purchased by a transfer into the scheme from another scheme or pension plan Any extra membership you have bought with additional contributions or by converting an AVC fund into membership. Final pay used for service up to 31 March 2014 For membership built up to 31 March 2014 your final pay under the LGPS 2008 regulations, is used to work out your benefits. This is usually the 2008 definition of pay during your final year of scheme membership, one of the previous two years if higher or, if you suffered a reduction or restriction in your pay after 31 March 2008 and this reduction/ restriction occurs within your last ten years of membership, you can elect to have your benefits calculated using the average of the best three consecutive years in the last ten years. The 2008 definition of final pay includes: normal pay shift allowance bonus contractual overtime maternity pay, paternity pay, adoption pay, any other taxable benefit specified in your contract as being pensionable If you worked part-time during your final year, your final pay, under the 2008 definition, is the full-time equivalent pay that you would have received, if you had worked full-time. If your pay was reduced in this period because of sickness, your final pay will be the pay that you would have received had you not been off sick. Membership from 1st April 2014 For all membership from 1st April 2014, the scheme is a Career Average Revalued Earnings scheme (CARE). This means for each scheme year (April March) that you are a member, the pensionable pay you receive for that year will be divided by 49 and is added to your pension. Each consecutive scheme year of membership will build up the same way and is added to your pension account. Whilst you are an active member to ensure that your pension account keeps up with the cost of living, your pension is adjusted each year by a Treasury Revaluation Order. NB. Your Final Pay and CARE pay is provided by your employer. If this is found to be incorrect after your benefits have been brought into payment they will need to be recalculated and adjustments made retrospectively. You are therefore advised to check your retirement statement carefully and let us know if you think the information is incorrect. Shropshire County Pension Fund 7

8 How are my benefits worked out? A calculation sheet has been included with your retirement letter to confirm the membership you have built up for each period. Retirement Lump Sum (all periods of membership) All members have the option to convert pension to a lump sum on retirement. This is a tax free lump sum at a conversion rate of 1 pension to gain 12 lump sum. The amount converted must not exceed 25% of the total capital value of your retirement benefits. The capital value of your benefits is: 20 x Annual Pension plus lump sum, (if any) plus in-house AVC Fund (if any). Retiring early and drawing immediate benefits If you are retiring before your normal pension age your benefits will generally be reduced because they are being paid early and will be in payment for longer. The early retirement reduction table shown below is used to work out how much your reduction would be. Where the number of years is not exact, we adjust the reduction percentages accordingly. Early retirement reduction table (as at April 2016) Pension Reduction Retirement Grant Reduction % Years early Men Women All 0 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 1 5.6% 5.2% 2.9% % 10.01% 5.7% % 14.6% 8.5% % 18.8% 11.2% % 22.7% 13.7% % 26.4% 16.3% % 29.8% 18.7% % 33.0% 21.1% % 36.1% 23.4% % 38.9% 25.6% % 42.2% N/A % 45.5% N/A % 48.6% N/A NB: these reductions do not apply where retirement is due to redundancy, efficiency or ill health. What happens if you are retiring because of redundancy or efficiency of service? If your employer has made you redundant (either voluntary or compulsory) or you have left because of efficiency of service. Providing you are at least 55 years of age you are eligible for an immediate payment of unreduced benefits. What happens if I have retired due to ill-health? If you have been retired due to permanent ill-health and your employer has determined you satisfy conditions to award an ill-health benefit, your pension can be paid. In certain conditions this could give you increased benefits if you are unlikely to be capa ble of obtaining gainful employment within a reasonable time of leaving. The decision to award benefits is made by your employer or former employer if you are a deferred member. Flexible Retirement If you are taking flexible retirement with your employer s agreement, through a reduction in your hours or grade, you can draw some or all of the pension benefits you have built up helping you ease into retirement. If you are taking flexible retirement before age 65, your benefits may be reduced to take account of their early payment unless your employer has agreed to waive the reduction in whole or in part. You will continue paying into the LGPS on your reduced hours or grade, building up further benefits in the scheme unless you opt out. If you do not opt out your LGPS membership will continue automatically in your job on the reduced hours or grade. Trivial Commutations and small pensions Trivial commutation is where a small pension benefit will be paid as a lump sum. How do I know if I can take all my pension as a one off lump sum? The rules which must be met in order to take your pension as a one off lump sum are: You have to be aged at least 55, or age 60 in the case of a woman with a GMP*, or age 65 in the case of a man with a GMP, with no upper age limit. (Since March 2011 Trivial commutation is also allowed for those people who are over age 75.) You have to add all your benefit values, of all pension arrangements including company pensions/personal pensions/stakeholder pensions/ retirement annuities/buy-out plans (but not any State Pension), together and if they do not exceed in total 30,000, trivial commutation may be a possibility. (This limit increased from 18,000 on 27 March 2014.) All the benefits in the pension scheme must be extinguished. You do not have to commute all your pension arrangements. You can commute some and leave others to provide you with retirement income however, all transactions must be completed within 12 months of the first one. *GMP = Guaranteed Minimum Pension, please refer to the Pension Increase booklet for further information. 8 Shropshire County Pension Fund

9 How are my benefits worked out? Benefits from additional contributions What are my options in the LGPS? In an occupational pension scheme, such as the LGPS, it may be possible for you to take a lump sum even if the main rules above have not been met. The following are the main qualifying criteria: You must be 60 or over; You must not be a controlling director of the sponsoring employer; The payment must not exceed 10,000 (before 27 March 2014, the limit was 2,000); The payment extinguishes your right to benefits under the scheme; and There must not have been a transfer-out of the scheme in the 3 years preceding the date of payment. N.B. If these rules are met a lump sum will be payable, unless a formal request is made by you outlining any exceptional circumstances which should be considered. Will the Trivial Commutation lump sum be taxed? The lump sum paid will be deemed as income for tax purposes. The first 25% of the lump sum payment will be tax free and the remaining 75% will be taxed. Unless you are giving up a pension in payment in which case the whole lump sum is taxed. Instructions from HM Revenue & Customs mean the tax is deducted at source and you are paid the balance. Further information about taking a small pension The option to take a small pension benefit as a lump sum is only provided to members who we think might meet the criteria. If applicable, this will be covered in your retirement letter. You can enter the following shortened web addresses into your internet browser to find further information on The Pensions Advisory Service website: goo.gl/jujghr (Taking a small pension as a cash lump sum) goo.gl/luj0fp (Publications, including a quick guide and a detailed guide to trivial commutation) Additional Voluntary Contributions (AVCs) Your contributions will cease on retirement and you have a choice of how to use your AVC fund. The options available to you are in your letter. (please see your letter for which options apply to you) 01. Buy an annuity This is where an insurance company, bank or building society of your choice converts the value of your AVC fund and pays you an annuity (pension) in return. You can do this at the same time as you draw your main scheme benefits or you can choose to delay payment until any time up until the eve of your 75 th birthday. The amount of the annuity depends on several factors, such as interest rates and your age. You also have some choice over the type of annuity, for example whether you want annual increases and whether you want dependants benefits. 02. Buy an annuity from the Local Government Pension Scheme If you retire with immediate payment of your benefits you may be able to use your AVC fund to buy an annuity from the main scheme. However, if you entered into an AVC contract after 1 April 2014, the regulations permit deferred members also, to buy an annuity from the main scheme. 03. Buy extra membership in the Local Government Pension Scheme If you started paying AVCs before 13 November 2001 and you are aged 50 or more and ceased payment of your AVCs before you retire, or at any age if you are retiring on ill-health grounds, you have the choice to convert your AVC fund into extra LGPS membership. 04. Take your AVC fund as cash If you draw your AVC fund at the same time as your LGPS pension, you may be able to take some or all of your fund as a tax free lump sum. If you still have scope to, you can convert some of your LGPS pension into a lump sum, we will explain your own position in the enclosed retirement letter. If you decide to draw your AVC fund later, you can then only have up to 25% of your fund as a lump sum. If you are buying extra years in the Local Government Pension Scheme If you have purchased added years, each year of membership purchased will count at the rate of 1/80th of pensionable pay for annual pension purposes and 3/80ths of pensionable pay for the calculation of your retirement grant, unless you first Shropshire County Pension Fund 9

10 Benefits from additional contributions Freedom and Choice joined the scheme aged 45 or over, in which case each year counts at 1/60th for pensions with no lump sum. You will be credited with the extra period of membership that you have paid for at the time of leaving. This will increase the value of your retirement benefits. If you are drawing benefits on flexible retirement you can continue to pay for any extra years you are buying. The benefits from the extra membership will not be paid until you finally retire. If you are retiring before normal pension age on the grounds of permanent ill-health, the period being purchased will reckon in full even though you will not have completed the payments. If however, your employment has ended for any other reason before that age (including redundancy, efficiency of service and voluntary retirement); you will only be credited with the membership you have actually purchased up to your retirement date. If you are retiring early because of redundancy or efficiency, we can give you the opportunity to pay the remaining contributions due in a lump sum in order to complete the contract. Additional Regular Contributions (ARCs) Your contributions will cease on retirement and you will be credited with the extra pension you have paid for. This will increase the value of your benefits. You have the option to commute part of your index-linked pension to a lump sum. If you have retired on ill health, the purchase of additional pension is deemed paid in full. If you have ceased employment for any other reason, without completing the purchase, you will be credited with the amount of pension purchased. This is calculated as the overall cost divided by the contributions you have made. Your additional pension will also be subject to any early payment reductions. Additional Pension Contributions (APCs) If you have brought or are buying extra pension by paying APCs the amount of additional pension your contributions have purchased will cease on retirement and you will be credited with the extra pension you have paid for. This will increase the value of your benefits. If you have ceased employment for any other reason, without completing the purchase, you will be credited with the amount of pension purchased. Your additional pension will also be subject to any early payment reductions. The information below only applies to you if you are more than 12 months away from your normal pension age (NPA) and you are voluntarily retiring from your employment. It can also apply if you have an Additional Voluntary Contribution (AVC) plan linked to your Local Government Pension Scheme. Prior to 6 April 2015, if you voluntarily retired from your employment, and you were age 55 or over, you would have been awarded a deferred benefit or an immediate reduced pension benefit payable from the date of retirement. The same approach applies if you were a deferred benefit member applying for your deferred benefit to be brought into payment early before NPA, in that the deferred benefits could be retained until age 75 or taken as reduced pension benefits from age 60. What has changed? Changes in the law introduced by the Pensions Act 2015 mean that many members of UK pension schemes which offer Defined Contribution (DC) benefits will have increased flexibility over how they can take their pension from age 55. The increased flexibility introduced by this legislation means that these members can now take the whole of their pension as a lump sum in one go or at different stages however, only 25% of the cash taken will be tax free. The Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS) is not a DC Scheme, but is a Defined Benefit (DB) Scheme so these new flexibilities do not directly apply to members of the LGPS. If you would like to take advantage of these new flexibilities then as a member of LGPS you will need to first transfer your pension benefits to a provider who offers these flexibilities. A transfer of pension benefits is only possible if you have ceased membership of the scheme at least one year before your NPA and you elect for a transfer at least one year before your NPA. Transferring my Deferred Benefit If you decide to transfer your pension rights from the LGPS to another arrangement with a view to acquiring a right or entitlement to one of the new flexible benefit arrangements, you may be required to take independent financial advice. Independent financial advice is required if the transfer value of the main scheme benefits is more than 30,000. The cost of obtaining the financial advice has to be paid for by you, the member. Please note that if you have more than one LGPS benefit in the same Fund, or other LGPS Funds, these benefits would count when assessing whether independent financial advice must be taken. Before a transfer value can be paid by the Fund to an alternative 10 Shropshire County Pension Fund

11 Freedom and Choice scheme you will have to provide Shropshire County Pension Fund with a signed statement that the advice has been received from a registered Financial Advisor. Where the transfer value is less than 30,000, although not required, it is recommended that you seek financial advice before deciding to transfer your LGPS pension benefits. Can I just transfer my AVC plan and leave the main scheme benefit with the LGPS? Yes an AVC can be transferred independently of your main scheme benefits and there is no requirement to take independent advice even if your plan value is worth more than 30,000. Your main scheme benefit can be left as a deferred benefit or taken as immediate reduced pension benefits. What is a Deferred Benefit? A deferred benefit is the annual pension that you have built up in the LGPS calculated up to the date of leaving your employment. If you were a member of the LGPS prior to 1 April 2008 you will also be entitled to a standard retirement lump sum in addition to your annual pension. The deferred benefit is held in the pension fund until NPA and whilst the benefits are deferred they are increased (if applicable depending on CPI interest rates) each year in line with inflation. Whilst the benefits are deferred you can choose to transfer the capital value of your deferred benefits to an alternative pension provider. What is a transfer value? A transfer value is sometimes known as a cash equivalent transfer value (CETV) and it is the capital value of the deferred benefit. How do I find an Independent Financial Advisor? An authorised independent advisor can be located by accessing one of the following websites: FCA register, Personal Finance Society Website; The Association of Professional Financial Advisors, or the Local Citizens Advice Bureau. Pension guidance is available from the Government s guidance website Pension Wise if you are considering taking flexible benefits. The guidance is free and impartial and can be accessed on the internet, by phone, or face to face. For more information see or call Pension Wise does not provide guidance about taking benefits directly from a defined benefit scheme such as the LGPS. You should consider taking independent advice to help you decide which option is most suitable for you. Pension Increase after retirement Public service pensions such as the Local Government Pension Scheme are adjusted annually in line with the Consumer Price Index to take account of the increase in prices once in payment. Every April we will tell you if any increase has been applied as determined by the Pensions Increase Act. You will also be issued with the April edition of our InTouch, retired members magazine, your April pay slip and your P60. Pension Increases resulting from an annual adjustment are normally only paid if you are aged 55 or over except if you have retired on illhealth grounds. You will find, along with the accompanying letter, a leaflet entitled Inflation Proofing Your Pension & Guaranteed Minimum Pension. This booklet will explain all about how inflation proofing works and how your Guaranteed Minimum Pension (GMP) is incorporated into your pension (if applicable). If you require any further information please contact Pension Services. I am interested in transferring my benefits to another pension scheme If you are more than 12 months away from your NPA and have deferred benefits in the scheme you can request a transfer out of your benefits. To do so you will need to write or phone the Pensions Team to request the transfer forms. Contact details can be found at the back of this booklet. You should be aware that there may be tax implications associated with accessing flexible benefits. The income from a pension is taxable; the rate of tax you would pay depends on the amount of income that you receive from a pension and from other sources. Shropshire County Pension Fund 11

12 Frequently asked questions How will my pension be paid? Your pension will be paid on the 29th of every month (or earlier if the 29th is a Saturday, Sunday or bank holiday). Payment may also be made slightly earlier in December prior to Christmas. All of the current pay dates are listed on our website. We will make each monthly pension payment direct to your bank or building society account. When you fill in the forms held within your pack, remember to tell us which account you want us to pay your pension into. This is very important. What if I decide to live abroad? If you are thinking of moving abroad, contact us in good time so we can discuss the options with you and make all the necessary arrangements. When will I receive my first pension payment? When we have all the information we need from you and your employer, we ll do our best to start paying your pension from the next available pay date. We will also pay your tax free lump sum (if applicable), once your forms have been received and checked that they have been completed correctly. Will I pay tax on my benefits? Your lump sum retirement grant is completely tax-free (in line with current HMRC rules). However, you will almost certainly have to pay tax on your monthly pension. If you have a P45 from your employer, from your retirement, please forward this to the Pension Office. Your pension will be taxed using an emergency tax code until the tax office tells us the correct tax code to use for your income. If you want to know more about the tax you will pay, get in touch with your tax office: HM Revenue & Customs NW Midlands & Shropshire Area, Crown House, Birch Street, Wolverhampton. WV1 4JX Tel: If you are calling from outside the United Kingdom Tel: When speaking to the tax office you will need to quote your National Insurance number and our tax reference number 671/S10. What if I change my address or my bank details? Please let us know if you move house or want us to pay your pension into a different account. Please provide these new details in writing and remember the payroll is completed in the middle of each month so please inform us as soon as you can. What if I get another job after I retire? If you get another job there will be no change to your pension. It will continue to be paid under current Fund policy. Where can I obtain financial advice from? Your retirement can mean making decisions including financial ones. The Pensions Team are not authorised under the Financial Services Act to give scheme members individual advice. If you wish to receive individual and independent advice you may wish to talk to a registered independent financial adviser or an organisation such as the Citizen Advice Bureau. You will personally need to meet the cost of any charges made for the advice if applicable. 12 Shropshire County Pension Fund

13 Frequently asked questions Your State Pension What benefits will be paid if I die after retiring on pension? A lump sum death grant may be payable if you die whilst receiving your pension. The amount of the death grant is dependent on your service in the pension scheme. Please contact the Pensions Team for more information on your individual circumstances. In addition to the above (if payable) a survivor s pension will be payable to your widow, widower or surviving civil, or to a cohabiting partner providing you have membership in the scheme from 1 April Pensions are also payable to any eligible children who are under age 18, or, if in full-time education, under age 23. If the child has a physical or mental impairment, the pension may be payable for the life of the child. Further information is available from the Pensions Team on request. Your widow, widower, civil partner, cohabiting partner, next-of-kin or person dealing with your estate must immediately inform the Pensions Team of your date of death as otherwise an overpayment could occur. How to notify the Fund of a death It is essential that the Fund is notified of a member s death as quickly as possible so that the process of establishing whether dependent benefits are due can be started without delay. When contacting the Fund it would be helpful if the following information is provided: Full name and address of the deceased The date of death and where the death was registered Reference number such as National Insurance number or Payroll Reference Number Full name and address of the Next of Kin and a contact telephone number The Fund will then write to the Next of Kin to request to see the death certificate and any other relevant certificates, and declarations about marital status and any eligible children. When entitlement has been established and the relevant benefits have been calculated, the recipient will be informed and the appropriate payments made. Further information on the benefits available in the event of your death are available on request from Pensions Team. In addition to your Local Government Pension Scheme benefits, you may also qualify for a state retirement pension paid by the Government from State Pension Age. The pension is based on the National Insurance contributions you have paid, or have been given as credits, during your working life. More information on your state pension is available from the State Pension Agency, Tel: Communications intouch Twice a year the scheme issues a newsletter to retired members called intouch. The newsletter includes an update from the Pensions Manager and an article from the current Pensioner Representative who sits on the Pensions Committee. If you have something of interest that you wish to contribute please forward it to the Pensions Team. Retired Members Meeting Since 2006, the Pensions Team have been holding retired members meetings, to which all retired scheme members are invited to attend. Arrangements are made for a number of interesting speakers to join us. If you have recently heard someone speak who you think would be of interest to others, please contact the Pensions Team. It is hoped that these meetings will give you an opportunity to catch up with former work colleagues whom you may have lost touch with as well as speak to members of the Pensions Team. Annual Meeting An Annual Meeting is held to update members on the Fund. Topics covered include investment, financial performance and administration of the scheme. The Annual Meeting is open to active, deferred and retired members, who all receive an invitation prior to the meeting, providing details of the event. Shropshire County Pension Fund 13

14 Will I receive a payslip? We will not send you a payslip unless your net pay (the amount that gets paid into your bank) either increases or decreases by 5 or more from the previous months pension amount. This means you will be alerted when your pension payment has changed. If you receive a payslip because something has changed this is how to read it: The tax code shown here should normally be the same as that sent to you by the tax office, if you have any queries about the tax code displayed here you should contact the tax office on The period is the tax month in which the tax is paid 03. Date when your pension will be paid 04. Your National Insurance number 05. This box shows the taxable gross amount of pension and the total amount of tax you have been paid since April. 06. This shows how your pension is paid, by BACS straight into your bank or building society. 07. This is your unique payroll reference number; please quote this number if you phone pensions services. 08. Your name 09. Important messages will be displayed here. 10. Your pension payment amount will be displayed here 11. Your deductions will be displayed here. These deductions include tax and extras such a Union subscription or paycare. National Insurance contributions are not deducted from an occupational pension. 12. This is your net pay, which is the amount paid into your bank or building society account that month. On the back of your payslip is a form for completion and return if you need to tell us about any changes in your personal details such as a change to your bank details or address. Don t forget you have access to view your payslips and P60s online By logging onto a secure area you can view your most recent payslips and P60s from the Fund. To register to access your payslips please visit Register to View your payslips online To sign up to view your payslips online for the first time, simply visit our website and click Register under the heading View your payslips. This will direct you to the instruction page which will talk you through the registration process. Please be aware that for you to access View your payslips online the Fund must have your address on record. You should contact us to provide this information. 14 Shropshire County Pension Fund

15 Dispute procedure Useful Information and Organisations In accordance with Regulation 74 of the Local Government Pension Scheme Regulations 2013 (as amended), we are required to draw your attention to the fact that if you are dissatisfied with any decision relating to your rights or liabilities under the scheme, you may make an appeal application to the body responsible for the decision; either your employer or the Administering Authority. This is called a 1st stage appeal, and it must be made within 6 months of the event. Standard forms and guidelines on your rights can be obtained at on our website or a copy can be requested by calling After you have been through the 1st stage, if you are still dissatisfied you may apply for a reconsideration using the 2nd stage to: Claire Porter: Head of Legal Services Shropshire Council, Shirehall, Abbey Foregate, Shrewsbury SY2 6ND for members, former members and their dependants of all other employers in the Shropshire County Pension Fund. We would suggest, however, that you refer to the Pensions Team initially, any matter with which you are not in agreement before considering the appeal process. The Pension Advisory Service is available to assist you with any potential disputes. The Pensions Ombudsman is also available to investigate and determine complaints or disputes of fact or law. Contact details for both can be found on the next page. How to contact us You can come in and see us in person at: Shropshire County Pension Fund, Shirehall, Abbey Foregate, Shrewsbury, SY2 6ND Office hours are: Monday to Thursday am to 5pm Friday am to 4pm Our Helpline number is: Our address is: pensions@shropshire.gov.uk State Pension Any queries in relation to the State Pension should be addressed directly to the Department for Work and Pensions. They can be contacted on: Tel: Pension Credit Tel: Tax Office If you receive a tax notification from the Tax Office, please ensure that this corresponds to the tax code shown on your pay slip. If you have a query regarding your tax code, the Tax Office can be contacted on: Tel: International Tel: Prudential Prudential, Lancing BN15 8GB Tel: Equitable Life Equitable Life Assurance Society, Walton Street, Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire HP21 7QW Tel: Fax: enquiries@equitable.co.uk Citizens Advice Tel: Age UK Tel: The Pensions Regulator Napier House, Trafalgar Place, Brighton, BN1 4DW Tel: The Pension Tracing Service The Pension Service 9, Mail Handling Site A, Wolverhampton, WV98 1LU Tel: Pensions Ombudsman 11 Belgrave Road, London, SW1V 1RB Tel: The Pensions Advisory Service (TPAS) 11 Belgrave Road, London, SW1V 1RB Tel: Our website address is: Shropshire County Pension Fund 15

16 Pensions helpline: (01743) Web: Administered by: