Employee Pension Scheme Contribution bands for 2019/20

As communicated in last month's edition, employee contributions should be collected in April on the basis of current regulations. The table of employee contribution bands and rates to be implemented with effect from 1st April 2019 under current regulations are on our website.

Amendments to the Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS)

We have recently sent out a communication to scheme members to inform them of changes that came into effect from 10 January 2019 (some have been backdated). The changes relate to early payment of deferred benefits for leavers before 1 April 1998 and changes to survivor benefits for same sex spouses and civil partners.

The newsletter has been uploaded to Member Self Service (MSS) for all members to view and we have sent a letter to those members who do not currently use MSS. A copy can be found on our website

New Forms Available on our website

There is a new Leaver form available on our website along with a completion guide which should make it easier for you all to understand exactly what we need (hopefully)!

We have also developed a spreadsheet for calculation of final pensionable pay for pre-2014 benefits and Assumed Pensionable Pay (APP) which can be submitted with the Leavers form to confirm the figures quoted. The form we use to capture the best average pay for previous years has been re-designed along with the Casual Leaver information request form.

Please do not stock pile any forms but use the ones on the website as these will be the latest versions.

Work is on-going to move the leaver form to Employer Self Service so we will keep you updated!

New factors for purchase of additional pension (APC)

In accordance with regulation 2(3) of the LGPS Regulations 2013 MHCLG have issued revised factors for:

• Additional pension for elections before 1 April 2012
• Additional pension for elections from 1 April 2012 to 31 March 2014

The above takes effect from 1 April 2019 and actuarial guidance is available here www.lgpsregs.org along with the covering letter from MHCLG. LGA are in the process of updating the additional pension calculator and are hopeful to complete the updates by the end of next week.

Estimates

Just a reminder that you can process member estimates via the Benefit Calculation option in Employer Self Service (ESS) for any of the following employer driven retirements: 

• Redundancy/efficiency
• Ill Health Retirement (Tier 3)
• Flexible Retirement

All calculation results will confirm the strain costs payable, if applicable.

If you have a complicated case or you require assistance with the calculations, then we can process the estimate for you. If you are having to go through a redundancy exercise and need figures for many employee’s (more than 8), it is possible for us to process these calculations in bulk and a spreadsheet is on our website within the Employer Forms section – for more information on the process, please contact the Employer & Communications Team

Discretions

There is a new guide to Employer Discretions now available on our website. The guide includes a revised example policy which incorporates the requirement for a separate Flexible Retirement policy. We suggest that you check your current policy against the new template to ensure you have covered all the required discretions. Please don't forget to send us a copy.

TUPE’s & New Academies

If you are outsourcing services and have a number of staff who will be subject to TUPE and moving to a new employer or your school is converting to an Academy or moving MAT, please do not submit any leaver forms as this will complicate the process – instead there is a staff data capture spreadsheet you can complete on our website.

Keep us updated

Please remember to keep us updated with any changes in staff responsible for completing our forms (authorised signatories). This can be done by completing our via our online form.

You can also use this form to notify us of your IDRP Stage 1 Appeals Officer and any delegated authorised contacts.

Payment of Pension Fund Contributions

Please remember to inform us and the relevant Finance team each time you have paid your pension scheme contributions, by filling in the Monthly Contributions Form. If we receive the returns right away with the payments and they are correct - it makes the process so much easier, so please ensure that you build this form into your procedures.

If you are a Somerset Pension Fund employer, please contact the Corporate Finance Team for a copy of the Monthly Contribution Return: Corporatefinancepens@somerset.gov.uk

If you are a Devon Pension Fund Employer, you will need to use the online EAS5 form. If you have not already registered, a login can be obtained from the Employer and Communications Team.

Contacts

Employer & Communications  Team

Quick links

Peninsula Pensions Employers' Pages

Peninsula Pensions  Employers' Guide

Ill Health Retirement Guidance

Pensionable Pay Guidance

Assumed Pensionable Pay Guidance

IDRP Guidance

LGPS regulations and guidance

Fund Investments

LGPS National Website

Newsletters

Back copies