Firefighters' Pension Schemes annual benefit statement notes for active members

Transcription

1 Firefighters' Pension Schemes annual benefit statement notes for active members Section 1 Personal details It is important that you check the information listed in this section. If any of the information in this section is incorrect, please contact us and give us the relevant details and evidence. FirePensions@northamptonshire.gov.uk. Full name If you have changed your name, we will need a copy of your marriage certificate or change-of-name deed so that we can update your pension record. You can scan this in or photograph it and send it by . Please make sure you sign your copy. Partnership status Your partnership status reflects our current records. We will work out your partner s pension based on your partnership status at the date of your death. If it is not correct or showing as Not known, please contact us. Date you started pensionable employment This is the date you joined your current pensionable employment within this post. Firefighters Pension Scheme 2015 start date This is the date you joined the 2015 scheme, or will join it if you stay in your pensionable employment until that date. If you are a protected member of the 1992, 2006 or special modified 2006 scheme, this will not appear on your statement. Fire authority on 31 March 2018 This is the fire and rescue authority you were employed by on 31 March Firefighters Pension Scheme (FPS) on 31 March 2018 This is the Firefighters Pension Scheme you were a member of on 31 March Definitions: FPS 1992: Firefighters Pension Scheme 1992 FPS 2006: Firefighters Pension Scheme 2006 FPS Special Special Modified Firefighters Pension Scheme 2006

2 FPS 2015 Firefighters Pension Scheme 2015 National Insurance number This is your National Insurance number as provided by your employer. Payroll reference This is the payroll reference for your current employment as provided by your employer. If this is incorrect, please speak to your employer. Section 2 Summary of total benefits on 31 March 2018 The benefits in this section are an estimate of your total pension benefits. If you have transferred into the Firefighters Pension Scheme 2015, this will be the combination of those benefits and the benefits built up in your original scheme. These figures are based on a number of assumptions, and do not give you any legal rights. Your total annual pension benefits on 31 March 2018: This is the total current value of your pension benefits in this employment if you had left the scheme on 31 March 2018 and took your pension at the deferred pension age that applies to the scheme you are a member of. Please see the table below scheme 2006 scheme Special 2015 scheme modified 2006 scheme Deferred pension age Your State Pension age In certain circumstances, some adjustments may be made to these figures when you retire. For the purpose of this statement, if any of these circumstances apply to you, they will be treated in the following way. a) Actuarial reduction the figures quoted may be reduced if you take them before your deferred pension age. b) Scheme Pays if you have chosen to use Scheme Pays (where you pay the annual allowance charge from your pension scheme), this debit is included on your statement and the figures quoted have been reduced to meet the charge. This will be recalculated when you take your pension. c) Pension sharing order if a pension sharing order or earmarking order following a divorce or a dissolution of a civil partnership applies to your pension benefits, this debit is included on the statement and the figures quoted have been reduced to meet the charge. The amount of the reduction will be recalculated when you take your benefits.

3 d) Split pensions the figures on your statement do not take account of any adjustment that may be made when you retire to reflect a period at a higher pay. If a split pension applies, we will work it out when you take your pension. Benefits we will pay if you had died in service on 31 March 2018 This section tells you the value of the pension benefits that we would have paid to the relevant survivors or nominated beneficiaries, if you had died as an active member of the scheme on 31 March Death-in-service lump sum We have worked out the death-in-service lump sum based on the scheme you were a member of on 31 March The table below shows how we have worked this out for each scheme. If you are a member of the 1992 scheme, we would pay this lump sum to a surviving husband, wife or civil partner or, if you don t have one, to your estate. Members of the 2006, special modified 2006 and 2015 schemes can fill in an expression of wish form, stating who you would like to receive the death-in-service lump sum, though the final decision rests with the fire and rescue authority. You can get forms on the relevant Firefighters pension scheme s section of our website scheme 2006 scheme Special modified 2006 scheme 2015 scheme Death-in-service lump sum 2 x your pensionable pay 3 x your pensionable pay 2 x your pensionable pay 3 x your pensionable pay Annual survivor s pension This is the pension that we would pay to your husband, wife or partner if you had died as an active member of the scheme on 31 March This is based on your partnership status as set out in Section 1. We pay death-in-service survivor s pensions at 50% of the higher-tier ill-health pension that would have been due. The table below shows whether a surviving partner would receive a pension if you died in service (based on your partnership status) scheme 2006 scheme Special modified 2006 scheme 2015 scheme

4 Husband, wife or civil partner only Yes Yes Yes Yes Partner you live with who would be entitled to a survivor s pension No Yes (please see note below about nomination) Yes (please see note below about nomination) Yes, if the scheme manager agrees Under the current rules of the 2006 and special modified 2006 schemes, if you are not married or in a civil partnership, you must choose (nominate) someone who will be your qualifying partner who you want us to pay a survivor s pension to. You may be aware of a recent court case commonly known as Brewster which ruled that a nomination form did not need to be in place to pay a pension to a qualifying partner. The rules of the 2006 scheme are currently being considered, with a view to removing the requirement to nominate a partner. However, we consider it best for you to record who you want a surviving partner s pension to go to if you die. This saves a surviving partner from unnecessary administrative duties at what would be a sensitive time. You can get a form for this purpose from the Firefighters 2006 Scheme section of our website. Nominated beneficiaries for the death-in-service lump sum Here we show details of any beneficiaries and the percentage of the death-in-service lump sum that you gave on an expression of wish form if you are a membe of the 2006, special modified 2006 or 2015 scheme. If you are a member of the 1992 scheme, you cannot nominate anyone to receive any death-in-service lump sum as we will pay it to your surviving husband, wife or civil partner. If you do not have one, we will pay it to your estate. As a result, this section will be blank for 1992 scheme members. If you are a member of the 2006, special modified 2006 or 2015 scheme and this section is blank, we do not currently hold an expression of wish form on your record. Section 3 Career average pension benefits on 31 March 2018 This section provides details of the pension benefits you have built up as a member of the 2015 scheme. This section will show values of 0.00 on your statement if you are a protected member of either the 1992 or 2006 scheme, or a taper-protected member who has not yet moved into the 2015 scheme. Annual pension built up in year ended 31 March 2018 This section shows you the amount of career average pension built up during the scheme year ended 31 March 2018.

5 Earned pension: pensionable pay 59.7 This is the value of the 2015 scheme pension built up in the scheme year (1 April 2017 to 31 March 2018) based on the amount of pay you have received and paid standard contributions on, as a member of the 2015 scheme. We work this out using your pensionable pay multiplied by 1/59.7th. If you have any questions about your pay, including what is included in pensionable pay, please contact your payroll provider. Additional pension bought If you have chosen to pay additional pension contributions, this is the current value of the additional pension you have bought during the period 1 April 2017 to 31 March Transfers in This is the annual pension provided by any benefits you chose to transfer into the 2015 scheme from another pension provider during the scheme year that ended on 31 March Total This is the total of your earned pension, additional pension bought and annual pension provided by transfers in for the scheme year that ended on 31 March Total career average pension to 31 March 2018 This section shows you the total amount of career average pension built up since you joined the 2015 scheme. Closing balance on 31 March 2017 This is the value of your 2015 scheme pension on 31 March Effect of revaluation applied 1 April 2017 The 2015 scheme pension is revalued by a Treasury Revaluation Order on 1 April each year. The revaluation for the Firefighters Pension Scheme 2015 is based on the change in average weekly earnings over the year to the previous 30 September. This increased by 2.6% to 30 September This shows the effect of the revaluation (applied on 1 April 2017) to the closing balance on 31 March Pension build-up in year This is the total of the pension built up in the scheme year, as shown in the previous subsection. Total career average annual pension on 31 March 2018

6 This is the total value of your career average annual pension on 31 March 2018 after adding (to the closing balance from March 2017) the effect of the 2017 revaluation and pension built up in the scheme year ended 31 March Section 4 Value of final-salary pension benefits on 31 March 2018 This section shows the value of your final-salary pension benefits on 31 March If you have only ever been a member of the 2015 scheme in this employment, this section will state Does not apply. Your pension benefits based on final-salary pay The pensionable pay we use to work out your final-salary benefits is the full-time equivalent pay supplied to us by your fire authority for the year ended 31 March Please contact your payroll provider if you have any questions about pay, including what is included in pensionable pay. Annual pension This is the final-salary scheme pension you would receive at the deferred pension age shown in the table below had you left the scheme on 31 March Deferred pension age 1992 scheme 2006 scheme Special modified 2006 scheme 2015 scheme Your State Pension age Additional pension benefits on long-service increment and other additional pension benefits Your final-salary scheme pension may include an additional pension benefit (APB) amount relating to long-service increment (LSI) or other pay that attracts an extra pension benefit, if this applied to you at the time long-service increments were pahased out. Section 5 Lifetime allowance This section shows you the value for lifetime allowance purposes on 31 March 2018 of your pension regarding the employment that this statement relates to. Lifetime allowance is the limit on the total value of pension benefits you can take when you retire without having to pay tax. If the percentage of standard lifetime allowance shown on your statement is more than 100%, you may have to pay a lifetime allowance tax charge when your benefits are paid to you. This may also be the case if you have other pension benefits that, when combined with your existing benefits, have a value of more than the lifetime allowance.

7 We provide information on where to find out more about the lifetime allowance, and possible protections, in your statement. Section 6: Projections if you keep contributing to the scheme until your normal pension date This section gives you an estimated projection of your pension benefits, assuming that you stay a member of the scheme, in your current employment, until your normal pension age. The normal pension age of each scheme is as follows scheme 2006 scheme Special modified 2015 scheme 2006 scheme - Age 55; or - at least age 50 with 30 years service; taper-protected or unprotected members Taper-protected or unprotected members with benefits built up in the 1992 scheme can retire and take their 1992 pension at the retirement age for the 1992 scheme. The minimum pension age for taking the 2015 scheme pension is age 55. If you take your 2015 scheme pension earlier than age 60, an early retirement factor or reduction will apply. Annual pension (with no lump sum) This is the total value of your estimated annual pension, at your normal pension age, and may include both final-salary and 2015 scheme pensions. In certain circumstances, some adjustments may be made to these figures when you retire. For the purpose of this statement, if any of these circumstances apply to you, they will be treated in the following way. a) Scheme Pays if you have chosen to use Scheme Pays (where you pay the annual allowance charge from your pension scheme), this debit is included on your statement and the figures quoted have been reduced to meet the charge. This will be recalculated when you take your pension. b) Pension sharing order if a pension sharing order or earmarking order following a divorce or a dissolution of a civil partnership applies to your pension benefits, this debit is included on the

8 statement and the figures quoted have been reduced to meet the charge. The amount of the reduction will be recalculated when you take your benefits. c) Split pensions the figures on your statement do not take account of any adjustment that may be made when you retire to reflect a period at a higher pay. If a split pension applies, we will work it out when you take your pension. Including projected 2015 scheme pension If you are a protected member of either the 1992, 2006 or special modified 2006 scheme, this does not apply. This is the amount of 2015 scheme pension benefits included in the projection. If you had not yet moved into the 2015 scheme on 31 March 2018, but will do so before your normal pension age, the pensionable pay used to estimate your 2015 scheme benefits is your final-salary pay shown in Section 4 of your statement. This is reduced to the part-time equivalent if you are not a full-time firefighter. The projected figures do not include any adjustment for future revaluation under Treasury Revaluation Orders. Projected final-salary scheme pension to your normal pension age This is the estimated value of your final-salary pension from the 1992, 2006 or special modified 2006 scheme. Protected members If you qualify as a fully protected member, with only a final-salary pension, we work out your estimated pension based on your service up to your normal pension age. This is multiplied by an accrual rate, then multiplied by your final-salary pay on the date of this statement. The table below shows the accrual rate that applies. Accrual rate 1992 scheme 2006 scheme Special modified 2006 scheme 1/60th for up to 20 years service 1/60th 1/45th 2/60ths for each of the following years (up to a total maximum of 40/60ths) Taper-protected and unprotected members

9 2006 scheme (standard and special members) If you are a taper-protected or unprotected member with both final-salary and CARE pension benefits, we work out your estimated pension based on your years of service until you join (or joined) the 2015 scheme. This is multiplied by the relevant accrual rate (as in the table above) and then multiplied by your final-salary pay, on the date of this statement scheme Taper-protected and unprotected members of the 1992 scheme who have moved to the 2015 scheme are protected by the double accrual guarantee. This guarantee protects the double accrual you would have expected for service after 20 years, and is set out in law. The formula used to work out the double accrual guarantee is: (A 60) x (B C) x FSP A = Maximum 60 ths you could have built up to your normal pension age had there been no change to the 1992 scheme B = 1992 scheme service up until the date you move into the 2015 scheme. C = Calendar years service in both the 1992 and 2015 schemes FSP = Final-salary pay Maximum lump sum You can exchange part of your pension (up to 25%) for a lump sum. This section shows you what your benefits would look like if you took the maximum amount of lump sum. Due to tax regulations, members of the 1992 scheme (including protected, taper-protected and unprotected members) may choose to adjust the amount of lump sum that relates to their 1992 scheme pension to avoid a tax charge or limit the amount of pension they exchange to the maximum tax-free amount available. To work out the amount of the lump sum, a commutation factor, as shown in the table below, is applied to the part of the pension you give up. For 1992 scheme members, a tax charge may apply if your commutation factor is more than 20. You can avoid this charge by commuting a lower percentage of pension. If you are a member of the special modified 2006 scheme, you may have commutation factors greater than 20. However, there is a restriction in place that prevents you commuting your pension to prevent your lump sum triggering a tax charge scheme 2006 scheme Special modified 2006 scheme 2015 scheme

10 Commutation factors (figures used to determine the amount of pension which needs to be given up in order to provide the lump sum) Age-related factor calculated and reviewed regularly by the scheme actuary Fixed factor of 12 Age-related factor as set out in Annex ZA of 2006 regulations (link below) Fixed factor of 12 ( Maximum lump sum: restricted to HMRC tax-free limit If taking the maximum allowable lump sum would trigger a tax charge, this is the maximum lump sum you can take without triggering that charge. Reduced annual pension This is the remaining annual pension we will pay after you have given up some pension for a lump sum. Expected survivor s annual pension if you stay in the scheme to your normal pension age (with no lump sum taken) and (maximum lump sum taken) This section shows you the value of any survivor s annual pension that we would pay if you die after retirement having contributed to the scheme until your normal pension date and either taken benefits with no lump sum or with the maximum lump sum. How we work out the survivor s pension will depend on which pension scheme you are a member of on the date you retire. Generally, a survivor s pension for a husband, wife or civil partner would be half of the pension that you were entitled to when you retired. Under the 2006 and 2015 schemes, if your husband, wife or partner is more than 12 years younger than you, we would reduce a survivor s pension by 2.5% for every year or part of a year over the 12 years, to a maximum of 50%. If you die after you retire, and are not married or in a civil partnership, we work out survivor s benefits for members of the 2015 scheme who have a 1992 portion of pension differently to those of the 2006 and 2015 schemes. This is because a survivor s pension is only paid to a husband, wife or civil partner in the 1992 scheme but to a partner in the 2015 scheme. This means if you are not married when you die, your partner would be entitled to half of the 2015 pension, but not to half of any 1992 part of the pension, as this is only awarded to husbands, wives and civil partners.

11 Section 7: Value of pension debits on 31 March 2018 This shows the value of any pension debits which have been applied on your statement. The figures quoted in your statement will be after these debits. They include pension sharing order (divorce) and Scheme Pays (annual allowance charge) debits. Please see Section 2 of the notes for more details. Section 8: Service history details Breakdown of your service history details in this employment This section provides a breakdown of your service history. We are only able to show the three most recent changes to your service history (if you have only been a member of the 2015 scheme this section will be blank), so your entire service history may not be shown. Extra notes Financial advice Neither we nor your fire authority can give you financial advice about the information in your annual benefit statement. If you need help to find an independent financial advisor, the following link may be helpful. Note on the regulations We have worked out the benefits in this statement under the Firefighters Pension Scheme Regulations which apply from June These notes are only a guide to the Firefighters Pension Scheme Regulations, as only a court can provide a definitive interpretation of the law. These notes do not give you any rights under contract or by law and they cannot cover every circumstance. If there is a dispute relating to this statement, the appropriate law will apply. General Data Protection Regulation We are a data processor under the General Data Protection Regulation and we handle your information as instructed by your fire authority. This means we store, hold and manage your personal information in line with government requirements to help us to provide fire and rescue authorities, and you as members, with pension administration services. To allow us to carry out our pension administration service, your fire authority may ask us to share your information with certain people and organisations, but we will only do

12 so in limited circumstances. For more details about how we hold your information, who we share it with and what rights you have to ask for information from the fund, please visit: or