If you have recently retired from your Local Government employment or if you had a deferred pension that has started to be paid to you, we realise that you may have questions about the things you need to consider and what information you need to send us. Some of the frequently asked questions are answered below.  If you have other questions about your LGPS pension, please contact us.

 

When will my pension be paid?

Your pension is payable to you for life and will be paid to you monthly in arrears on the last Thursday of each month, except in the month of December when payment will be made before Christmas.  View this year's pay dates.  Bedfordshire Pension Fund pays your pension directly to a bank or building society account.  Changes of bank or building society account details must be sent in writing with a signature.  

 

Will I receive a payslip?

After your first pension payment you will not receive a pension advice slip each month, except

• in April of each year
• on any other month when there is a change of more than £1 to your net pension payment
• as confirmation of a change of details e.g. bank/building society account or home address

 

You can also check the details of your pension payments on My Pension Online.

 

When will I receive my P60?

P60s for the previous tax year will be sent out no later than 31 May each year.

 

Will my pension increase?

Under current rules, Pensions Increases are payable in April each year, provided you are over age 55 or if you are under age 55 and retired on ill health grounds and met all the necessary conditions.  The amount of the increase is currently based on the Consumer Price Index (CPI), and we will send you a letter each April telling you the percentage increase.

If any part of your LGPS pension was built up between 6 April 1978 and 5 April 1988 there may be a GMP included in your pension. The annual pension figure includes any GMP, if applicable. The GMP is not an additional payment due to you, but is the minimum pension Bedfordshire Pension Fund must guarantee to pay.  Pensions increase on the GMP is paid by HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) together with your state pension and not by Bedfordshire Pension Fund.

 

If I get a new job will it affect my pension?

Bedfordshire Pension Fund does not limit the amount of pension you can receive if you are re-employed, although you may wish to talk to HMRC to see if there are any tax implications (we are unable to help with these queries).

 

Will I pay tax?

Your LGPS pension is subject to income tax.  Form P45 (“Details of an employee leaving work”) is normally given to an employee on leaving employment.  If you have your P45, please send it to us so we can apply your tax code to your LGPS pension.  If we don’t receive your P45 we will use a temporary tax code until HMRC tells us the correct code to use.  If you are claiming your pension immediately after leaving Local Government employment, your employer may have already sent us your P45.

If you need to contact HMRC about your tax code, the telephone number is 0300 200 3300.  

 

Lump sum allowances

The Government limits the amount of tax-free cash that can be paid to you from registered pension schemes. The limits on tax-free cash are called the Lump Sum Allowance (LSA) and the Lump Sum and Death Benefits Allowance (LSDBA).  Most people's lump sum payments will not go over the limits.

When you take your pension benefits from Bedfordshire Pension Fund, we will send you a statement showing how much of each of the allowances had been used up by your pension benefits from us.  If you claim a pension from another pension scheme in the future, then you may be asked for this information.