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Beds Pension Fund > Deferred_members > Annual Benefit Statements > Annual deferred benefit statements FAQs

Annual deferred benefit statements FAQs

This page answers some of the questions members ask when they receive their annual deferred benefit statement.  If you have a question which is not answered below, please contact us.

 

When will my benefits be paid?

Do I have to take my benefits at the date shown on the statement?

Can I cash in my deferred benefits?

How are my deferred benefits calculated?

Are my deferred benefits protected against inflation?

What is the surviving spouse's/partner's pension?

How much pension can I exchange for a larger lump sum?

Can I start paying into the scheme again?

I have joined a different pension scheme.  Can I transfer my LGPS benefits to my new scheme?

Where can I find notes and conditions for the lump sum death grant?

Where can I find more information on data sharing?

I've moved house.  How do I let Bedfordshire Pension Fund know?

 

 

 

When will my benefits be paid?

The date that your benefits are payable from, as shown on your statement, is the date that your benefits are payable in full and is called your Normal Pension Age.

  

 

Do I have to take my benefits at the date shown on my statement?

You can choose to take your deferred benefits at any time from age 55 until age 75, as long as you have left the job the benefits are linked to.  If you decide to take your deferred benefits before your Normal Pension Age (NPA) they will normally be reduced as your pension will be paid for longer.  How much they are reduced by will depend on how early you take them.  The current early retirement factors are shown on our 'Early retirement' page (please note that the government may change early retirement factors from time to time).  The factors were updated in July 2023, just after the latest deferred members' newsletter went to print, so the reductions shown on the newsletter have now been replaced by those shown on the Early Retirement page.

 

To find out how much your pension benefits would be if you chose to take them at a date other than your NPA you can use the benefit calculators on My Pension Online.

 

You can leave your benefits in the LGPS past your NPA if you left the scheme after 1 April 1998.  Your benefits would be increased for late payment, but they must be paid to you by your 75th birthday.  If you left the LGPS before 1 April 1998, you must take your benefits either on or before your NPA. 

If you can't work because of ill health, you may be able to have your benefits paid in full, with no reductions, whatever your age.  There are rules about when benefits can be paid early on ill health grounds.  If you think you may be able to claim early payment of your benefits because of ill health you will need to contact your former employer in order to be assessed by a specially qualified doctor.

The Government has announced that the earliest age you can take your pension will increase from 55 to 57 from 6 April 2028.  Please go to our regulation changes page for more information.

  

Can I cash in my deferred benefits?

If you have a deferred benefit, which means that you paid into the LGPS for a certain length of time, then you will not be able to have a refund of the contributions you paid.

Under the LGPS regulations you can choose to transfer the value of your accrued pension rights to another occupational pension scheme, to a personal pension, to a stakeholder pension scheme or a buy-out insurance policy or you can leave the benefits in the Bedfordshire Pension Fund until you reach retirement age.  Please see the section on 'Can I transfer my benefits to a new scheme?' for more information about transferring benefits.

 

How are my deferred benefits calculated?

Depending on when you left the LGPS your deferred benefits will have been calculated using different methods.  For membership up to and including 31 March 2014, benefits are calculated using the final salary method.  For membership from 1 April 2014, benefits are calculated using the Career Average Revalued Earnings (CARE) method.

For membership up to 31 March 2008: Your benefits are calculated as 1/80th of your final salary for each year that you were a member of the scheme.

For membership from 1 April 2008 to 31 March 2014: Your benefits are calculated as 1/60th of your final salary for each year you were a member of the scheme.

If you worked part time before 1 April 2014, your membership is scaled down to reflect your part time working hours.  For example, if you worked 50% of full time, for each year that you worked you would have built up half a year's membership. 

The 'final salary' used to calculate benefits built up before 1 April 2014 is usually your pensionable pay in respect of your final year of scheme membership.  If you were part time, the whole time pay is used. 

For membership from 1 April 2014:  Your benefits are calculated as 1/49th of your pensionable pay in each year that you are a member of the scheme.  

'Pensionable pay' is pay on which you have paid pension contributions. 

 

 

Are my deferred benefits protected against inflation?

The deferred benefits you have in the LGPS are index-linked, which means that they increase each year in line with the cost of living and are protected against inflation.

The increase that is applied to your deferred benefits each year is called Pensions Increase and the amount of the increase varies from year to year.  Before April 2011, deferred pension benefits were increased annually each year in line with the Retail Prices Index (RPI).  From April 2011 onwards public sector pension benefits have been increased annually in line with the rise in the Consumer Price Index (CPI).  

Pensions Increase in 2023 was 10.1%

 

What is the surviving spouse's/partner's pension?

This is the annual pension that will be paid to a spouse/partner if you die before them.  The amount of a spouse's pension will depend on when you were a member of the scheme and when you married.  The value of your other benefits is not affected by whether or not you have a spouse.  The national LGPS member website has more information on spouse/partner pensions.  See our page on co-habiting partners for the conditions that need to be met in order for a co-habiting partner to receive a survivor's pension.

 

 

How much pension can I exchange for a larger lump sum?

If you joined the LGPS before 1st April 2008 you are entitled to receive a one-off, tax-free lump sum retiring grant based on your membership built up before 1st April 2008.  This is in addition to the annual pension.  Under current regulations, when you draw your benefits you have the option to exchange some of your annual pension for extra tax-free lump sum.  For every £1 of annual pension you give up you will receive £12 lump sum.

 

If you joined the LGPS after 1st April 2008 your benefits do not include a lump sum retiring grant. However, under current regulations, when you draw your benefits you will have the option to exchange some of your annual pension for a one-off tax-free lump sum.  For every £1 of annual pension you give up you will receive £12 lump sum.

There are limits to how much pension you are allowed to give up in order to have a larger lump sum.  We need to do individual calculations to work out the maximum lump sum you can receive and we are not allowed to give out this information over the telephone.  If you would like more information on how much pension you can exchange for a larger lump sum amount, please write to or email us with details of your request and we will send the information out by post to your home address. 

 

 

Can I start paying in to the scheme again?

You can only contribute to the LGPS if you are employed by a Local Government employer or if you employer has chosen to participate in the LGPS.

 

 

I have joined a different pension scheme.  Can I transfer my LGPS benefits to my new scheme?

It is possible to transfer your benefits to another pension scheme.  Under the LGPS regulations you can choose to transfer the value of your accrued pension rights to another occupational pension scheme, to a personal pension, to a stakeholder pension scheme or a buy-out insurance policy.You will need to inform your new pension scheme administrators that you are interested in transferring benefits to them. 

Transferring your LGPS benefits, particularly to a personal pension or money purchase arrangement, is a serious matter.  You should take care to avoid unauthorised companies and you should get genuinely independent financial advice before you make a decision to transfer your preserved benefits.  More information can be found on the following websites: 

 

MoneyHelper - Transferring your pension

The Pensions Regulator - avoid pension scams

 

 

Where can I find notes and conditions for the lump sum death grant?

Please see our page on the lump sum death grant for more information about this benefit

 

 

Where can I find more information on data sharing?

You can view our page on data protection and GDPR for more information on data sharing.

  

 

I've moved house.  How do I let Bedfordshire Pension Fund know?

We are not able to take changes of address over the phone.  You can update your address using My Pension Online, or you can email or write to us to let us know your new details.  Please see our contacts page for details of how to get in touch.