If you are a new employee you will automatically be entered into the scheme when you start. This is providing you are under age 75 and you work for an employer that allows you to join the scheme.
Your employer will set the contribution rate to be paid in line with the Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS) regulations contribution salary bandings. Most employers provide details of the rate you are paying within your pay advice.
To find out the benefits of joining the LGPS in both written and video format, please visit our your pension scheme webpage.
Once we have received and uploaded your employment information provided by your employer, we will send you a welcome letter.
Upon receipt of the welcome letter there are a few things for you to do to complete membership:
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Step 1: Sign into Member Self Service (MSS)
We will keep in touch with you by email, and via the Peninsula Pensions Member Self Service area of our website (unless you were a member of the scheme before 31 March 2015 and you chose to continue to receive correspondence by post). We recommend that you use your personal email for MSS so that you are kept informed even when not at work. Your employer is also asked to provide this to us to assist with sign up.
To register for MSS, simply click on the link provided or locate the member login button in the top right corner of any page on the website. This will take you to the Member Self Service page. The setup process is designed to be intuitive, but you’ll need an activation code from the pensions team to finalise your application.
If you are already signed up for MSS for another job or a previous contract within the LGPS Devon or Somerset Funds, you do not need to take further action.
Your new record will be available to view alongside any existing pension records you hold for other jobs.
As part of the sign up process, we use facial recognition technology. You will be asked to upload a photo of your driving licence or passport and take a photo for comparison. Please be assured that this is a secure form of identification, meaning your data will be protected and will not be used for any other purpose.
For more help on MSS, please visit our member self service help page.
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Step 2: Check and update your details
It is important to check and update your details on MSS if required, you will also need to complete your death grant beneficiary nomination.
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Step 3: Let us know about your previous pensions
No Previous Pension Benefits
If you have no other pension benefits, please could you confirm this by going to the ‘contact us’ area of the member self-service portal and select ‘option 22’.
Re-joiner to the LGPS
If you have previous service in the LGPS scheme, please go to our re-joining the LGPS page.
Previous public service pension
If you have previously been a member of a Public Service Pension in England, Wales or Scotland, it may be possible for you to transfer this into your current LGPS pension account, subject to certain criteria. If you are interested in doing this, please read the Transferring in a Previous pension (non LGPS) section.
Even if you don’t wish to join these pensions, we need to know the dates of service (even if you received a refund of contributions) as this may affect your future pension benefits.
This includes occupational pensions for civil servants, judiciary, armed forces, or any scheme in England, Wales or Scotland covering local government workers, teachers, health service workers, fire & rescue workers or police force. If you have previous LGPS pensions, the dates you paid into the a Public service pension could affect how they are combined.Your previous dates of membership could also affect your pension, due to the McCloud Judgement.
Therefore, please could you inform us of this service by going to the ‘contact us’ area of the member self-service portal and select ‘option 19’.
Previous Non-LGPS pension
It may be possible for you to transfer a previous non-LGPS pension (such as a occupational or personal pension) into your current LGPS pension account, subject to certain criteria. It is not possible to transfer a pension credit into the LGPS awarded by a court under a pensions sharing order.
You must make a written request within 12 months of joining the LGPS (unless your employer allows you longer). If you have changed contract with the same employer and you have continuous service, or if you have opted out and re-joined at a later date in the same role, the 12-month window commences from the date of your original contract within the LGPS.
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What you need to do if you are interested in transferring in a non-LGPS pension
- Ask your previous pension provider for a Cash Equivalent Transfer Value (CETV) and associated discharge forms
- Send this information to us as soon as you receive it, including the discharge forms; we will not use them to transfer benefits without your permission. You can send us this by using the upload function on Member Self-Service
We will send you an estimate of the extra service or pension amount that your transfer will provide. When making your decision whether to go ahead with the transfer, we strongly recommend that you seek independent financial advice first.
Peninsula Pensions provides information in accordance with statutory guidelines. Transfer in quotations will be within 2 months of the request being received, unless supplied within the previous 12 months.
Please visit the Transferring in a previous pension pages on the LGPS website to for more details or get in touch with peninsula Pensions.
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The McCloud judgement (Remedy)
When the Government reformed public service pension schemes in 2014 and 2015, they added safeguards for existing members. In December 2018, the Court of Appeal decided that younger members in the judges’ and firefighters’ pension schemes were treated unfairly because of these safeguards.
The McCloud Judgement is a ruling that affected all public sector pension plans, including the LGPS (Local Government Pension Scheme). As a result of this ruling, changes were made to these pension schemes, referred to as the McCloud Remedy.
Further information regarding the McCloud Remedy can be found here.
If you believe you are eligible for this protection because of your previous membership in the LGPS or another public sector pension scheme before 1 April 2012, and during the remedy period, please could you inform us of this service by going to the ‘contact us’ area of the member self-service portal and select ‘option 19’.
If you hold a previous LGPS or Public service pension which has McCloud protection, you have a 5 year break in membership and you join this to your LGPS pension, you will lose this protection.
Please keep in mind that if you qualify for underpin protection, it might not impact the value of your benefits. The benefits you have in the career average scheme (CARE) could be higher than what you would have accumulated in the final salary scheme.