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Returning LGPS Members

If you have previously been a member of the LGPS with another Fund in England or Wales you can choose to combine your pension benefits, or keep them separate. This decision must be made within 12 months of re-joining (unless your employer allows you longer). 

In most cases, your previous benefits will be joined with your pension account automatically unless you elect to keep them separate. Different rules apply depending on what type of LGPS benefits you have, when you left the LGPS, and how long you were a member. Therefore, please take the time to read through this information and complete and return the previous pensions form with your choices.  

Please note, if you opted out on or after 10 April 2015 and qualify for Deferred benefits, your pension cannot be combined (unless your service is concurrent).

  • What type of Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS) do you have?

    Deferred: If you have a LGPS pension for a job you are either no longer employed in, you have changed contract, or if you have opted out of the LGPS and you haven’t retired; you may have a deferred pension assuming you satisfy the criteria below: 

    • Your last day in the scheme was before 1 April 2014 and you paid into the scheme for 3 months or more
    • You were a member of the scheme on 31 March and 1 April 2014 and paid into the scheme for 3 months or more 
    • Your last day in the scheme was on or after 1 April 2014 and you paid into the scheme for 2 years or more

    To see the current value of your deferred pension(s) please log onto our Member Self-Service online portal.

    Frozen pension: If you previously paid into the LGPS but stopped before you built up enough pension benefits for a deferred pension (as above) and have not yet received a refund of contributions or transferred the benefits to another pension, you will have a frozen refund account. This pension will be automatically added to your current pension. 

  • What LGPS have you contributed to?

    Final Salary Pension Scheme: Pension you built up before April 2014 will be linked to your full-time pensionable pay* at the date you stopped paying into your deferred LGPS pension. 

    If, after allowing for inflation, this pay* is more than your full time pensionable pay in your current/ongoing job, then you may receive more pension by keeping your pensions separate ~ if you choose to join together, all benefits will be based on your current full time pay, which if lower, may not be in your best interest at this time.  However, it may be in future that your full-time pensionable pay will increase above this pay* (allowing for inflation), in which case joining may be beneficial.  This therefore is a decision to be made based on your own individual circumstances and we are unable to advise.

     If, after allowing for inflation, this pay* is less than your full time pay in your current job, then you may receive less pension by keeping your pensions separate. 

    Career Average Scheme: From 1 April 2014, the LGPS changed from a Final Salary Scheme, and became a Career Average Revalued Earnings (CARE) scheme. This means that every scheme year (April to March), you will build up a pension at a rate of 1/49th of the amount of pensionable pay you received. If you have chosen to be in the 50/50 section of the scheme, you will build up a pension at half this rate which is 1/98th.

  • Making your decision

    Whether you choose to join your previous pensions or keep them separate, your beneficiaries will be entitled to receive one death grant. This will be based on the higher value of the death grant due from your deferred pension/s or from your active pension/s. 

    Please note: If you choose to convert your final salary pension benefits to the CARE benefit scheme, please advise us if you would like to know how much pension that will buy in advance of making your decision – otherwise we will proceed with the transfer accordingly based on your instruction.  

    If your previous pension is combined and you have paid AVCs while contributing to this pension they must be transferred to the AVC arrangement offered by Peninsula Pensions which is prudential. You can read more information on paying  extra contributions  on our website.  

    For all deferred pensions if you choose to keep them separate:  

    • any benefits paid early due to redundancy, efficiency or ill health retirement in your current employment would not include the value of earlier deferred benefits.  
    • you can choose to draw these deferred benefits from as early as age 55 (at, normally a reduced rate to account for early payment), if your ongoing employment is treated by your employer as a separate/new employment/contract.  These deferred benefits then do not have to been drawn at the same time as the benefits from your ongoing employment. They can be drawn while you are still contributing in your ongoing employment.  

    Before you decide whether to join your previous pension benefits with your current pension benefits, please refer to the information further down based on the type of previous LGPS pension benefits that you hold to assist you with your decision.  

  • Next steps depending on the local government pension you have

    CARE Scheme only: If your previous pension holds service from 1 April 2014 only, unless you tell us otherwise, the amount of pension you have built up in your deferred pension will automatically be transferred and added to your current pension account.  

    This will then be revalued at the end of each scheme year, so your pension is in line with the cost of living. 

    If you want to keep them separate you must choose to do so within 12 months of re-joining, using the attached  form . 

    CARE and Final salary – less than 5 year break: If your previous pension has service before and after 1 April 2014, and you re-joined the scheme within 5 years (or if you paid into other public service pensions without a break of more than 5 years), unless you tell us otherwise, the amount of pension you have built up in your deferred pension will automatically be transferred and added to your current pension account. The membership you built up before 1 April 2014 will continue to count as Final Salary membership automatically linked to your current pension account. When you leave your current employment your final pay in that employment will be used to work out your Final Salary benefits for all your pre-1 April 2014 membership. The CARE pension you have built up from 1 April 2014 would then be added to your current pension and revalued at the end of each scheme year, so your pension is in line with the cost of living. Any protections that are applied to your deferred pension will continue to apply. 

    If you were a member of the LGPS in two jobs at the same time and your benefits are combined, your final salary service will be adjusted to account for the different salaries in the two posts. This adjustment will mean that the additional benefits that are combined with your active pension account are worth roughly the same as your deferred benefits on the date your membership ended. 

    If your benefits are combined and there is an overlap in service, the final salary benefits paid when you take your pension will be based on:  

    • your final pay in your current job, and 

    • your service before 1 April 2014, after the adjustment mentioned above 

    If your pension has McCloud protection, your service from 1 April 2014 to 31 March 2022  will also be adjusted to take into account the difference in pay. 

    If you want to keep your pension accounts separate you must choose to do so within 12 months of re-joining, using the attached form.

    CARE and Final salary – more than 5 year break: If your previous pension has service before and after 1 April 2014, and you re-joined the scheme after 5 years (or if you paid into other public service pensions with a break of more than 5 years), unless you tell us otherwise, the amount of pension you have built up in your deferred pension will automatically be transferred and added to your current pension account. 

    The membership you have built up before 1 April 2014 will no longer count as final salary. Instead the value of benefits built up before 1 April 2014 in the Final Salary scheme will buy an amount of earned pension in the CARE Scheme which will be added into your current pension. The CARE pension you have built up from 1 April 2014 would then be added to your current pension and revalued at the end of each scheme year, so your pension is in line with the cost of living. If this pension has McCloud protection and you join this to your LGPS pension, you will lose this protection.  

    If you want to keep your pension accounts separate you must choose to do so within 12 months of re-joining, using the attached  form.

    If you do not do anything, then your benefits will be automatically joined and you will lose your final salary link.  

    Final salary only – less than 5 year break: If your previous pension has ceased before 1 April 2014 and you have re-joined the scheme within 5 years (or if you paid into other public service pensions without a break of more than 5 years) this pension will automatically be kept separate unless you make a positive election to join it to your current pension. 

    If you do choose to join your pensions you have two options: 

    • Final Salary Link – If you elect to join your pensions keeping your final salary link, when you leave, pension built up before 1 April 2014 in your previous pension would then be calculated using your final full-time pensionable pay in your current post. Any protections that apply to your deferred pension will continue to apply. 
    • CARE Only – If you choose to join your pensions but in the Career Average Scheme, the entire Final Salary pension you have built will be converted to an annual pension transferred to your current pension. It would no longer be linked to your final pay and would be paid under the CARE scheme regulations. Any protections that apply to your deferred pension will no longer apply. 

    If you want to combine your pension accounts you must choose to do so, within 12 months of re-joining using the attached form.

    Final salary only – more than 5 year break: If your previous pension has ceased before 1 April 2014  and you have re-joined the scheme with more than a 5 year break (or if you paid into other public service pensions with a break of more than 5 years) this pension will automatically be kept separate unless you make a positive election to join it to your current pension. 

    If you do choose to join your pensions the membership you built up before 1 April 2014 in the Final Salary scheme will no longer count as Final Salary membership. Instead the value of benefits built up before 1 April 2014 in the Final Salary scheme will buy an amount of earned pension in the CARE Scheme which will be added into your current pension. Any protections that apply to your deferred pension will no longer apply.  

    If your previous pension has McCloud protection and you join this to your LGPS pension, you will lose this Protection.  

    If you want to combine your pension accounts you must choose to do so, within 12 months of re-joining using the attached form.

  • Previous service in Devon/Somerset

    If we do not hear from you within 12 months of re-joining, then your benefits will automatically be joined or kept separate depending on the type of previous LGPS pension benefits you hold, as per above. Therefore, please let us know what you would like to do using the attached  form.

  • Previous service in another fund

    If we do not hear from you within 12 months of re-joining, then your benefits will automatically be joined or kept separate depending on the type of previous LGPS pension benefits you hold, as per above. Therefore, please let us know what you would like to do using the attached  form.

    If you elect to combine these pensions, we will then contact your previous fund asking them for details of your service with them. They will then make a payment to us, this is called an ‘interfund’ transfer.  

    Even if you don’t wish to join these pensions, please let us know the dates of service as this may affect your future pension benefits. Please could you do this by going to the ‘contact us’ area of the member self-service portal and select ‘option 22’. 

  • Let us know about your public service pensions

    If you have previously been a member of a Public Service Pension in England, Wales or Scotland, 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 Public service pension could affect how they are combined, please see the re-joining the LGPS Guide for more information. 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 22’. 

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