New Local Government employees automatically become members of the Local Government Pension Scheme unless their contract is for less than three months.   

 

If your contract is for less than three months you will not be entered into the scheme automatically but you can choose to join the scheme if you want to. 

 

If your contract is for less than three months or if you have opted out of the scheme before and would now like to rejoin, you can join the scheme by filling in the 'Joining the LGPS' form which you can find on our forms for members page.

 

The national LGPS website has some short videos that you can watch to find out more about the scheme.  

 

How much you pay into the pension scheme depends on how much you're paid but your contribution rate will be between 5.5% and 12.5%.  Please see our section How much do I pay? for more details.

 

The LGPS offers flexibility around how much you pay in pension contributions.  You can choose to move into the 50/50 section of the scheme.  If you move into the 50/50 section of the scheme you will pay half the amount of pension contributions and build up half the normal pension benefits.  More information about the 50/50 section of the scheme is available on our 50/50 section page.

 

Please see our page about the benefits of the LGPS you will be entitled to if you choose to join.

 

If you are a new employee and you do NOT wish to join the pension scheme, it is important that you notify your employer or Bedfordshire Pension Fund as soon as possible.  Please see our section on opting out of the LGPS for more information.