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GUIDES AND FACT SHEETS FOR MEMBERS
The Fund publishes a number of guides and fact sheets to tell you about the main features of the Scheme, the type of benefits you can look forward to in retirement, and how soon you can draw them. We also look at what happens if you fall ill, are made redundant, or die.
We hope you find the guidance useful, whether retirement is many years away or just around the corner. We have deliberately used simple terms wherever possible in our guidance and avoided much technical detail which appears in the Scheme regulations. It is the actual regulations however which will be used in the event of any dispute or disagreement.
| A Brief Guide to the Local Government Pension Scheme |
 APRIL 2013 (PDF, 24 pages, 3.29MB)  This guide is for those employees who were contributing members of the LGPS on 1 April 2008 or who have subsequently joined. It explains the benefits available to you when you join the Scheme, together with how the Scheme works, what it costs to join and the financial protection that it offers to you and your family.
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| Increasing your Benefits |
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APRIL 2012 (PDF, 2 pages, 1.21MB) This guide explores the options available to members when considering how to increase their benefits via a pension arrangement.
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| Councillors Guide to the Local Government Pension Scheme |
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DECEMBER 2010 (PDF, 47 pages, 184KB) This guide provides full information for those local councillors who are offered membership of the LGPS under their Council's scheme of allowances and who are under age 75.
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| Planning your Retirement |
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FEBRUARY 2013 (PDF, 44 pages, 1.28MB) You can look forward to enjoying a guaranteed package of benefits when you retire. In this guide, we look at how your retirement benefits are worked out and when you can retire if you pay into the LGPS on or after 1 April 2008.
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| The Dependants' Guide |
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MARCH 2013 (PDF, 44 pages, 2.25MB) In the main, this guide deals with the Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS) benefits payable to dependants on the death of a Scheme member. It explains who is eligible, how to make a claim, the necessary documents you need to produce and the procedures to follow.
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| Fact Sheet 1: Reductions in Pay |
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DECEMBER 2011 (PDF, 3 pages, 59KB) This fact sheet is intended for those whose level of pay is reduced by reasons other than a change in the hours worked.
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| Fact Sheet 2: Tax and your Benefits |
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DECEMBER 2009 (PDF, 8 pages, 171KB) In this fact sheet we look at the HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) rules that govern pension savings.
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| Fact Sheet 3: Contribution Bands 2012/2013 |
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FEBRUARY 2012 (PDF, 1 page, 96KB) From 1 April 2012, the contribution rate will change for all members.
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| Fact Sheet 4: Is the Local Government Pension Scheme for me? |
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APRIL 2013 (PDF, 5 pages, 200KB) In this fact sheet we look at the wide range of benefits available to both full and part-time employees in local government.
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| Fact Sheet 5: Pensions and Divorce/Dissolution |
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OCTOBER 2008 (PDF, 4 pages, 110KB) In this fact sheet, we look at what happens to your LGPS benefits if you get divorced or your civil partnership is dissolved.
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Fact Sheet 6: Life Cover in the LGPS
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JANUARY 2010 (PDF, 6 pages, 99KB) This fact sheet details how the Scheme provides valuable life cover and financial protection to your family in the event of your death.
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| Fact Sheet 7: Transferring Pension Rights |
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JANUARY 2010 (PDF, 4 pages, 102KB) This fact sheet explains how members can transfer previous pension rights into the LGPS.
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| Fact Sheet 8: Leave of Absence |
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JANUARY 2010 (PDF, 4 pages, 56KB) This fact sheet explores how your membership in the LGPS could be affected and your benefits reduced if you are off work for any reason.
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| Fact Sheet 9: Leaving your job before Retirement |
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JANUARY 2010 (PDF, 12 pages, 218KB) This fact sheet looks at what happens to your LGPS benefits on leaving your job before retirement if you pay into the LGPS on or after 1 April 2008.
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| Fact Sheet 10: Changes to Dependant's Benefits |
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FEBRUARY 2010 (PDF, 4 pages, 136KB) This fact sheet explainins recent changes to the LGPS which may affect the survivor’s pension payable on your death if you are in a registered civil partnership or have nominated a cohabiting partner.
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| Fact Sheet 11: Combining previous LGPS membership |
EXPIRED 30 SEPTEMBER 2011This fact sheet looked at the options available from 1 October 2010 to 30 September 2011 if you had re-joined the Scheme and had previous LGPS pension rights as an employee in England or Wales.
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| Fact Sheet 12: If you joined the LGPS before 1 April 2008 |
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NOVEMBER 2010 (PDF, 5 pages, 89KB) A New-look LGPS was introduced from 1 April 2008, changing the cost and benefits of being a member of the LGPS. In this fact sheet we look at how your LGPS benefits are affected if you joined the LGPS before 1 April 2008.
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| Fact Sheet 13: Changes to tax relief and your Pension - April 2011 |
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NOVEMBER 2010 (PDF, 3 pages, 179KB) This fact sheet contains useful information in regard of the Government’s announcement to change the tax limits applying to pensions with effect from April 2011.
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| Fact Sheet 14: Hutton Report: Questions & Answers |
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MARCH 2011 (PDF, 3 pages, 143KB) This fact sheet answers some questions likely to be in members minds after the publication of the Independent Public Service Pensions Commission's final recommendations concerning the future of public sector pension schemes.
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Fact Sheet 15a: Leaving the LGPS on Redundancy or Efficiency grounds
(For Members under age 55)
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MAY 2011 (PDF, 1 page, 52KB) Volunteering to take early retirement on either Redundancy or Business Efficiency grounds* can be a very unsettling time, but rest assured, your Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS) benefits will be protected - whatever happens. This factsheet describes what will happen to your LGPS benefits if you under age 55.
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Fact Sheet 15b: Leaving the LGPS on Redundancy or Efficiency grounds
(For Members aged 55 and over)
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MAY 2011 (PDF, 1 page, 45KB) Volunteering to take early retirement on either Redundancy or Business Efficiency grounds* can be a very unsettling time, but rest assured, your Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS) benefits will be protected - whatever happens. This factsheet describes what will happen to your LGPS benefits if you are aged 55 or over.
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