What is the LGPS National Insurance Database?

 

Bedfordshire Pension Fund participates in a data sharing project with other Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS) pension funds in England, Wales and Scotland.  This is undertaken in order to comply with legal requirements contained in the LGPS’s governing regulations.

Provisions contained in the LGPS Regulations 2013 mean that, if a member of the LGPS dies, it is necessary for the scheme’s administrators to know if the individual also had other periods of LGPS membership elsewhere in the country so that the right death benefits can be calculated and paid to the deceased member’s dependants.

As the LGPS is locally administered, each pension fund has its own membership records and it can be difficult to tell if an individual has other LGPS records and where these are held. To comply with the requirements set out above, a national Database has been developed that will enable funds to check if their members have LGPS pensions records in other pension funds.

 

What data is shared? 

 

For each member of the LGPS, the Database contains a short entry containing:

• The individual’s National Insurance Number,
• A number to denote the individual’s membership status,
• The last calendar year that the membership status changed, and
• A four digit number confirming the LGPS pension fund where that member’s record is held.

 

Who hosts the Database?

 

The Database is hosted at the South Yorkshire Pensions Authority, an LGPS pension fund.

 

How will the data held on the Database be processed?

 

The data held on the Database will be processed in accordance with the Data Protection Act 2018 and other relevant legislation.

 

Are there any other purposes that the Database will be used for?

 

An extract of the membership information contained in the Database will periodically be shared with the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) so that the LGPS can join the Tell Us Once service.  Tell Us Once is a service offered in most parts of the country when an individual registers a death.  When the LGPS joins Tell Us Once and the death of an LGPS member is registered, the DWP systems will ensure that the LGPS pension fund is informed of the death, meaning that the member’s records can be processed more quickly and simply than would otherwise be the case.

 

 

Who is the data shared with?

 

Other LGPS pension funds. These are all public bodies named in legislation as administering authorities of the LGPS.

 

For the Tell Us Once service, an extract of the Database containing individuals’ NI Numbers will be securely shared with DWP every month so that they may maintain an up-to-date record of the LGPS’s membership.

 

How long will this data sharing be undertaken for?

 

For as long as

a) the relevant regulatory requirements remain, and

b) the LGPS participates in the Tell Us Once service.

In the event that neither of the above apply, the data sharing will cease to be undertaken.

 

Can I opt out of this data sharing?

 

No. As this data sharing is partly being undertaken to comply with a legal requirement, it is not possible for scheme members to opt out of the data sharing.