Production of 2024 statements has now begun on a rolling basis throughout the summer. You will be notified when your statement is ready to view. 

Your Pension Statement Explained

Download a death grant nomination form here

The McCloud judgement

Your Pension Statement in 2024 does not include any additional calculations for McCloud remedy because we are working with our software provider to make changes to the administration system. If you would like to know more about the McCloud judgement please read our McCloud information page.

Pay figures supplied by your employer

To be sure your benefits are correct, you must check that the pensionable pay figures on your statement are correct. If you think they’re wrong, please contact your employer as soon as possible – they only have to keep pay records for six years.

CARE pensionable pay

We’ve worked your CARE pension out using the actual pay you earned up to 31 March. If you’ve been on reduced or no pay due to sickness, injury, child-related absence or reserve forces service leave this should include your assumed pensionable pay (APP) for those periods.

When we work out projected benefits to your normal pension date we don’t allow for pay inflation. So we use the same pay to work out your CARE pension at your normal pension date as we do for your pension at 31 March.

Final salary rate of pay

This only applies to you if you were a member of the LGPS before 1 April 2014.

Your employer told us your annual rate of pay at 31 March 2024. We used this to work out your final salary benefits. If you work part time, your rate of pay is the full time equivalent pay for your job. We have used the same rate of pay to calculate your final salary benefits at your normal pension date (NPD). When you leave or retire, the final salary benefits you built up to 31 March 2014 will normally be worked out on the pensionable pay you earned in your final year, or one of the two previous years if that’s higher.

Benefits at 31 March 2024

If you were 55 or older on 31 March 2024, your benefits do not include any early retirement reduction that would apply if you had retired on this date. If you were past your normal pension date on 31 March 2024 the benefits quoted include a percentage increase for late retirement.

Minimum vesting period

The vesting period in the LGPS is 2 years. A vesting period is the minimum amount of time you need to be in the scheme to qualify for a pension.

If you leave the pension scheme with less than two years’ membership you’re entitled to a refund of your pension contributions, less deductions. You can read more about the vesting period and refunds here.

Normal pension date (NPD)

This is when you can retire and take all the pension you have built up without any reduction. Under the CARE scheme it’s linked to your state pension date (SPD) with a minimum age of 65. Your normal pension date may change in the future if the government changes your state pension date. Final salary benefits have a different normal pension date, which for most members is age 65.

Work out your state pension date by using the government's calculator or by using these government pdf look up tables.

Reduction factors applied when you draw your pension before your normal pension date

The table below shows the reductions applied in the new scheme if you decide to draw your pension early before your normal pension date. If you draw your pension at your normal pension date there is no reduction applied. We would apply the reductions depending on the number of years before your normal pension date you decide to draw your pension. This may be different for your final salary and CARE benefits. When the number of years is not exact, we adjust the reduction percentages accordingly. (This is subject to Rule of 85 protection, which protects some or all of your benefits from the normal early payment reduction if it applies to you).

Years early	Pension reduction (%)	Lump sum* (%)
0	0.0	0.0
1	4.9	1.7
2	9.3	3.3
3	13.5	4.9
4	17.4	6.5
5	20.9	8.1
6	24.3	9.6
7	27.4	11.1
8	30.3	12.6
9	33.0	14.1
10	35.6	15.5
11	39.5	n/a**
12	41.8	n/a**
13	43.9	n/a**

  

*An automatic lump sum only applies to membership built up before 1 April 2008

**The maximum reduction that can be applied to your automatic lump sum (for membership up to 31 March 2008) is 10 years. This is because these benefits have a protected normal pension age of 65 for almost all members. The maximum reduction can only ever be 10 years because you can only draw your benefits from age 55. Read more about taking your pension early on the LGPS national member website.

Benefits at your normal pension date

This section will be blank if you already reached your normal pension date by 31 March 2024. We assume you will continue in the section of the pension scheme (main or 50/50) you were in on 1 April 2024 until your normal pension date and so continue to build up pension up to then. Our calculations don’t allow for pay inflation or cost-of-living adjustments – we show your projected benefits to your NPD in today’s money. If your normal pension date in the CARE scheme is different to what it is in the final salary scheme we also include an increase for the period between the dates, worked out using actuarial factors. These factors are set by the Government Actuary’s Department (GAD) at a national level and are not locally decided.

You can claim your benefits from the age of 55. If you claim your benefits before your normal pension date they will be reduced because you are claiming them early. You can leave your benefits unclaimed until just before your 75th birthday. If you claim your benefits after your normal pension date they’ll be increased because you are claiming them late.

Please remember that the figures shown on your pension statement are an illustration only based on information given to us by your employer. You must ask for a full pension estimate before you decide to retire, but please note we restrict requests to one per year.

What’s paid if I die before I leave this job?

You can read more about the one-off death grant and who counts as an eligible cohabiting partner at partner's pensions

We've worked out your partner's pension using the marital status we hold on your pension record if you're married, have a civil partner, are in a same-sex marriage or if we know you have a cohabiting partner. If our records show your marital status as single, divorced, widowed or unknown, the partner's pension on your pension statement will shown as a possible partner's pension.

If your marital status is wrong and you would like a revised pension statement based on your present marital status please update your record online using the My Pension service.

If you die we will check your marital status before we work out what benefits are due, so there’s no need to worry if we don’t currently know your correct marital status.

Current value of partner pensions

Opposite sex marriage/same sex marriage/civil partner

Pre 01/04/ 2014 service = reckonable service × 1/160 × final pensionable pay

Post 31/03/2014 service = 30.625% of the member’s pension

The total partner pension is the above added together.

Co-habiting partner

Pre 01/04/2014 = reckonable service from 06/04/1988 to 31/03/2014 only × 1/160 × final pensionable pay

Post 31/03/2014 service = 30.625% of the member’s pension

The total partner pension is the above added together.

Death in service pension benefits

(this applies only to active members who die while still working and paying in to the pension scheme)

Death grant = 3 times your annual assumed pensionable pay

Partner pension as above, plus

Ill-health enhancement from the day after the date of death to normal pension age or age 65, whichever is higher.

Ill-health enhancement × 1/160 × annual assumed pensionable pay.

Note. If you marry or start living with a partner after you leave or retire, the amount they receive could be substantially less than shown here

Your pension tax relief limits

Read more about the annual allowance here. 

Other pension scheme membership

When you joined the pension scheme we asked you to complete a form to tell us about any other pension scheme membership you have had. If you haven’t already sent this form back to us, it’s very important that you do this as soon as possible. There is a one year time limit from starting a post and If you delay you may not be able to do it at all.

• Any decision you need to make about linking previous LGPS membership or transferring other pension rights to WYPF usually has to be made within the first year of joining.
• Other LGPS membership or membership of another public service pension scheme can affect your benefit entitlement from your current membership.
• All LGPS membership has to be taken into account when assessing the amount and payment of a death grant

Are you Scam Smart?

Anyone can be the victim of a pension scam, no matter how financially savvy they think they are. It’s important that everyone can spot the warning signs.

Scammers try to persuade pension savers to transfer their entire pension savings, or to release funds from it, by making attractive-sounding promises they have no intention of keeping.

Don’t let a scammer enjoy your retirement. Read the FCA’s leaflet here or visit their website at www.fca.org.uk/scamsmart/how-avoid-pension-scams