Newsletter Pensions Newsletter 2013

Transcription

1 Newsletter 2013 Pensions Newsletter 2013

2 North East Scotland Pension Fund Welcome to your Newsletter 2013

3 Newsletter 2013 We have tried to address the most common queries raised by pensioners and hope that you find this newsletter useful and informative. To make sure we are covering the right topics, we would love to hear your feedback. MEMBER SELF SERVICE - MY PENSION We are happy to announce that pensioners now have access to My Pension, a secure online self service facility which allows you to; View your pension details View current and previous payslips View current and previous P60 s Change you bank details To start using My Pension, simply visit our website and register. For security reasons, you will receive an activation key by post to complete the registration process. PENSIONERS OPEN DAY We are pleased to invite you to our pensioners open day at the Town and County Hall, the Town House on December 9th from 10am to 4pm. The day will include demonstrations of My Pension with help available to set up your own online account, on hand pension officers to answer any questions you have and festive refreshments. There is no need to book in advance just turn up and we will be happy to help. CHANGING YOUR DETAILS If you change banks or wish your pension to go to a different account you will need to let us know as soon as possible so we can continue to make correct payments. To do this either log into My Pension or send a signed letter notifying us of any changes; we cannot accept this information over the phone or by for security reasons. Similarly please notify us if your marital status or address changes. PAY SLIPS Remember that we no longer issue monthly payslips, except under the following circumstances: In April to confirm the increase to your pension if applicable In May to show details of your new regular pension amount If there is a change of 0.50 or more to the net amount If there are changes to your tax code which affect your net amount You can view payslips by registering with My Pension.

4 North East Scotland Pension Fund PENSION PAYMENT DATES 2013/2014 December 13th Jan 15th Feb 14th Mar 14th April 15th May 15th June 13th July 15th August 15th September 15th October 15th November 14th FUND UPDATE 2012/2013 Total value of the Pension Fund assets as at 31 March ,567 million Income to Fund Employee Contributions 25 million Employer Contributions 78 million Transfers received 3 million Investment income 46 million Expenditure Pension Benefits 99 million Leavers and Transfers 4 million Fund Administration costs 2 million ASSET ALLOCATION AT 31 MARCH 2013 Top 6 Directly Held Stock as at 31 March 2013 (million) % of Fund HSBC Amazon Vodafone BAT BT Group Rio Tinto Cash Other Property Bonds Equities

5 Newsletter 2013 YOUR TAX CODE At the beginning of the new financial year you may be sent a notification of a tax code change from HMRC Centre 1. HMRC also automatically send the Pension Fund notifications of tax code changes for our pensioners. If you receive a notification and have any questions you should contact HMRC on If you received more than one tax code for the tax year beginning 6 April 2014, you should contact HMRC. The Pension Fund cannot advise you about this coding notice. If you receive a tax code in January or February please note whether it is for 2013/14 or 2014/15. Codes for 2014/15 will not be applied until your April 2014 pension payment. THINKING OF GOING BACK TO WORK? If you return to work for an employer participating in the LGPS, any pension in respect of compensatory added years may be reduced or suspended, even if you choose not to join the LGPS in your new employment. This only affects people who: - retired on the grounds of redundancy or interest of efficiency, and received compensatory added years when they retired. If you didn t receive any added years, you can take up any new employment without your pension being affected. The regulations governing this area are very complex. If you start work again you should contact us as soon as possible, so that we can tell you if your pension benefits will be affected.

6 North East Scotland Pension Fund NATIONAL FRAUD INITIATIVE The National Fraud Initiative (NFI) in Scotland is a counter-fraud exercise led by Audit Scotland. It uses computerised techniques to compare information about individuals held by different public bodies, and on different financial systems, to identify circumstances (matches) that might suggest the existence of fraud or error. The Pension Fund has a statutory obligation to participate in the NFI and your pension data will be used, along with other authorities and government organisations like the Department of Work and Pensions, to share and compare information. We are required to provide details of pensioners so that they can be compared with information provided by other public bodies. This will ensure, for example, that no pensions are being paid to persons who are deceased or no longer eligible, and that occupational pension income is being declared when housing benefit is applied for. Sometimes wrong payments are made because of a genuine error. Previous exercises have uncovered instances of pensioners receiving too little pension, resulting in their payments being increased. These exercises, therefore, help promote the best use of public funds. If you would like more information about this please call our Helpdesk as shown below, or visit our website at

7 Newsletter 2013 DATA PROTECTION For the purposes of processing your personal information, Aberdeen City Council as the administering authority for the North East Scotland Pension Fund is the Data Controller. The nominated representative of the Data Controller is the City Solicitor. You can check that your computerised personal record is accurate by contacting us, although we may charge a small fee.

8 North East Scotland Pension Fund CONTACT US We hope you found this newsletter useful and informative. If you have any questions or would like more information, please contact us. You can also visit the Pensions Section in person: Monday Friday (except public holidays) between pm. North East Scotland Pension Fund, Aberdeen City Council, AECC - 2nd Floor, Balgownie One, Conference Way, Bridge of Don, Aberdeen AB23 8AQ Helpdesk: (01224) Fax: (01224) pensions@nespf.org.uk Website: