These notes explain your LGPS Annual Benefit Statement (ABS) 2024. They cannot cover every circumstance and in the event of any dispute, the appropriate legislation will prevail. These notes do not confer any contractual or statutory rights.
Personal details: If your name or date of birth are incorrect, please email: [email protected]
Date Pensionable Service Started: This is the date you started this employment. For details of all your service, please refer to the Employment Details section on the 'My Pension' self-service website.
Employer and Job Ref: This is your employer as at 31 March 2024 and the specific job reference for your post. If you held more than one active post at this date then you will receive an ABS for each post.
Section of LGPS: From 1 April 2014 there are two Sections to the LGPS, Main and 50/50. The Section you were in on 31 March 2024 is shown here.
Yearly pension = Total yearly pension as at 31 March 2024, including Final Salary (FS) pension (membership up to 31 March 2014) and Career Average Revalued Earnings (CARE) pension (membership from 1 April 2014).
Automatic Lump Sum retirement grant = Lump sum in respect of membership up to 31 March 2008. If you joined the LGPS after 31 March 2008 then the automatic lump sum will be zero.
The figures quoted include the deduction for any Divorce or Annual Allowance Scheme Pays Debit if these are applicable to you, providing that the effective date was before 1 April 2023.
The figures include any extra pension bought via Added Years, additional pension contributions (APC) or added regular contributions (ARC) contract on 31 March 2024.
The figures quoted do not include any in-house Additional Voluntary Contribution fund. You will receive an AVC statement separately, giving you the value of any AVCs that you pay.
If you were on reduced contractual pay or no pay due to sickness, or relevant child related leave for any part of the year ending 31 March 2024, then your summary is based upon your assumed pensionable pay for that period.
A late retirement increase has been applied to any final salary benefits if you are over age 65 on 31 March 2024, and to all benefits if you are over your Normal Pension Age (NPA) at that date. The late retirement increase is based upon the factors currently in force, which may be different when you take your benefits.
Your benefits may be reduced if paid before your NPA and any reduction that would apply is not reflected in your statement.
Please note that two years’ LGPS membership is required to qualify for a pension (including transfers in). If you leave with less than two years’ membership you will not be eligible for a pension and will normally receive a refund of your contributions.
Yearly survivor’s pension. A survivor’s pension is paid if when you die, you are married, have a civil partner or an eligible cohabiting partner.
If your status is shown as single, divorced, widow/er or unknown, the yearly survivor’s pension shown assumes that you are married when you die (this is for illustration purposes only). However, no survivor’s pension will be paid (except to any eligible child) unless you are married, have a civil partner or an eligible cohabiting partner at the time of your death.
If you have declared a cohabiting partner, the pension shown will be based on your membership from 6 April 1988, plus any membership before 6 April 1988 purchased by an Additional Survivor’s Benefit Contribution.
If your status is married or in a civil partnership, the survivor’s pension shown will be based on all your LGPS membership. The survivor’s pension due if you change your marital status after leaving the LGPS may differ from that shown.
Survivor pensions are calculated as follows:
Benefits built up to 31.03.2008: Final Pay x Membership x 1/160 = Spouse’s Pension
Benefits built up between 01.04.2008 & 31.03.2014: Final Pay x Membership x 1/160 = Spouse’s Pension
Benefits built up from 01.04.2014: CARE pensionable pay (for each scheme year) x 1/160 = Spouse’s Pension *
*The spouse’s CARE pension is revalued each year on 1 April and is adjusted in line with HM Treasury Revaluation Orders in the same manner as your CARE pension. Should you die in service then the CARE pension would be enhanced based on the assumption you had continued in the scheme to your NPA and based on your Assumed Pensionable Pay.
Pensions may be payable to eligible children, usually up to age 18 (or 23 if in full time education or vocational training), however the rates of such pensions are not shown on your ABS.
If you leave the LGPS before retirement, a survivor’s pension is still payable when you die but it could be a lesser amount. Please make sure that you keep the Fund updated with details of any changes in your marital status.
The survivor’s pension shown in this section has been based on the total of your Final Salary survivor’s pension, the dependant’s pension related to any added years being purchased, any ARCs (that included a survivor’s pension element and the survivor’s pension due under the CARE scheme (including enhancement to NPA.). The figures quoted include the deduction for any Divorce Debit to the survivor’s pension if this is applicable to you, providing that the effective date was before 1 April 2023.
Death in Service Lump Sum. If you die as an active LGPS member, then a death grant of three times your annual pensionable pay is payable as a death in service lump sum. The death grant may be a different amount if you die as an active member and also have deferred LGPS benefits, a LGPS pension in payment and/or a suspended Tier 3 ill-health pension. If this were to apply, then the greater of the death in service grant and the total death grants payable from the earlier membership(s) would be paid.
If you would like to make a new nomination or change an existing one, you can do so online in the Manage beneficiaries section of 'My Pension'. You can make an expression of wish for whomever you would like to receive the death in service lump sum - friends, family, partners, even an organisation such as your favourite charity. But as this is an expression of wish, it is not legally binding and distribution of the lump sum is at the Fund’s discretion.
This section shows your current NPA, which is linked to your State Pension Age (SPA) with a minimum of age 65. This date may change if your SPA changes before your benefits are paid. Your NPA only applies to benefits built up in the CARE scheme. NPA for benefits built up in the Final Salary (FS) scheme before 1 April 2014 is still age 65.
If your NPA is after age 65 and you have Final Salary benefits, these Final Salary benefits will be subject to actuarial increase in respect of the period from age 65 to NPA. The figures quoted in Section 4 includes this actuarial increase based on factors as at 31 March 2024. If you retire after age 65 the rate of increase will be based on government factors in place at that time.
Your projection of benefits is based on your CARE pensionable pay for the scheme year ending 31 March 2024, and on the Section of the scheme you were in on that date. It is assumed that there will be no change in your pay before your NPA and no future revaluation under the CARE scheme is taken into account.
Your actual Final Salary benefits will be based on your final pay on leaving the Scheme, and this could be higher or lower than those quoted. Final Salary benefits are only shown for members who joined the Scheme before 1 April 2014, or have completed a transfer which has purchased Final Salary benefits.
If you have an ongoing APC, Added Years or ARC contract (provided the contract started before 1 April 2023), then it is assumed that you have completed these contracts and they include revaluation to 31 March 2024 and any late retirement increase due.
The figures quoted include the deduction for any Divorce or Annual Allowance Scheme Pays Debit at your NPA if these are applicable to you, providing that the effective date was before 1 April 2023.
If you were on reduced contractual pay or no pay due to sickness, or relevant child related leave for any part of the year ending 31 March 2024, then your projections are based upon your assumed pensionable pay for that period.
When you leave the scheme your Final Salary benefits will be based on your Final Salary pensionable pay, or Final Pay. See the LGPS members’ website for a definition of Final Pay.
Survivors’ pensions are generally based on all your scheme membership and are calculated to your NPA, however, some membership does not count towards the calculation of these benefits. Please see the notes on Section 3.
It is possible to retire and take your benefits earlier than your NPA, from age 55 onwards, although a reduction would be applied for early payment. The figures in this statement do not take account of the reductions that would apply. Any Divorce or Annual Allowance Scheme Pays Debit will be adjusted if you retire earlier or later than your NPA. Similarly, you may retire later than your NPA (but no later than age 75) and both your Final Salary benefits and CARE benefits would be subject to actuarial increase in respect of the period from your NPA to your date of retirement.
Subject to HMRC limits, you will have the option on retirement to convert some standard pension to increase the lump sum retirement grant. Every £1 of yearly pension given up increases the lump sum by £12. Please note that the maximum lump sum that you can receive will be calculated by the Pension Team when you retire and is subject to HMRC limits. See section 6.
You can use the Deferred Benefit Calculator on My Pension online portal to view estimates of the reduced benefits that would be paid if you retire early.
You should check the pay figures quoted in the statement, which have been supplied by your employer. If you think that the pay is incorrect you should contact your employer, not the Pensions Team.
If you elected to take out an ARC contract between 1 April 2008 to 31 March 2014 to purchase additional pension, then this value will not be shown in the breakdown of how your LGPS benefits are calculated in section 5. However, any additional pension purchased by way of an ARC is included in the value of your yearly pension as at 31 March 2024 (section 2) and in the projection of your pension should you remain in the scheme until your Normal Pension Age (section 4). In addition to this, if when you took out your original ARC contract you also elected to purchase additional dependant’s benefits, then this value has also been included in the survivor’s benefits shown in sections 2 and 3.
Your Final Salary (FS) Pensionable Pay shown in this section has been provided by your employer. If you joined the LGPS on or after 1 April 2014 and had not completed a transfer of FS benefits from the LGPS or another public sector pension scheme by 31 March 2024, the FS pensionable pay field will be zero.
IMPORTANT – The FS pensionable pay figure provided by your employer is an estimate based on your pensionable earnings in the year ending 31 March 2024. If your pay in this year included an annual bonus or other variable pensionable payments, the estimated benefits shown in your ABS may be overstated if the FS pay you earn in your final year of scheme membership is lower than the estimated pay.
Your CARE pensionable pay Main Section - From 1 April 2014, your CARE benefits are calculated on your CARE pensionable pay during the scheme year as provided by your employer.
Your CARE pensionable pay 50/50 Section - If a figure is shown here, it means that you have elected to be in the 50/50 Section for all or part of the year ending 31 March 2024.
If you have been a member of both the Main and 50/50 Sections of the scheme during the scheme year, then figures will show in both CARE pensionable pay fields.
Your Total Benefits to 31 March 2024 are calculated as follows:
Benefits built up to 31.03.2008 are calculated as follows:
Final Pay x Membership x 1/80 = Pension
Final Pay x Membership x 3/80 = Automatic Tax Free Lump Sum
Benefits built up between 01.04.2008 & 31.03.2014 are calculated as follows:
Final Pay x Membership x 1/60 = Pension (no automatic lump sum.)
Please note if you started employment on 1 April 2014 or later, these fields will be zero, unless you have completed a transfer in which has purchased Final Salary benefits.
If you worked part time or term time only, the membership you have accrued will be pro-rated based upon the hours that you work. The Final Salary is based upon the full-time equivalent pay (FTE.)
You can check the details of any part time hours changes (up to 31 March 2014) that have been used to produce the figures in this statement by clicking on Membership Details in the Employment Details section of My Pension online.
CARE benefits built up from 01.04.2014 onwards – this is the total of all your CARE benefits to 31.03.2024. From 1 April 2014, each scheme year you are a member, your CARE pensionable pay will be divided by 49 if you are in the Main Section, or by 98 if you are in the 50/50 Section and added to your pension account for that year.
Your CARE pension is revalued each year on 1 April and is adjusted in line with HM Treasury Revaluation Orders.
Although the FS and CARE benefits are calculated differently, they form a single pot and must be taken together.
Opening balance - The closing balance for the year ending 31 March 2023 forms the opening balance for the 2023/24 year. If you joined the LGPS after 31 March 2023 this figure will be zero.
Adjustment for the cost of living - Your total CARE pension is adjusted each April in line with HM Treasury Revaluation Orders. An increase of 6.7% was applied to your benefits built up in the CARE scheme on 6 April 2024.
2023/24 build-up (breakdown below)
From 1 April 2014, each scheme year you are a member, your CARE pensionable pay will be divided by 49 if you are in the Main Section, or by 98 if you are in the 50/50 Section and added to your pension account for that year. A full CARE pension breakdown is available on the portal.
Additional pension purchased and Transfers In. Any additional pension that you have purchased during the scheme year by paying APCs or Shared Cost APCs (SCAPCs) will be shown here. Any additional CARE pension purchased from a transfer in of previous pension rights completed in the year ending 31 March 2024 will be shown in ‘Transfers in’. If your transfer is in progress and has not completed, then it will not show in this statement but will be included in subsequent statements.
Please note the breakdown of the CARE build up does not include any late retirement increase, Divorce or Scheme Pays Debits.
The government limits the amount that someone can receive in tax-free lump sums from all of their pensions to £268,275. This is known as the Lump Sum Allowance (LSA).
There is also an overarching limit of £1,073,100 on the total tax-free lump sums and death benefits lump sums that can be paid. This is known as the Lump Sum and Death Benefit Allowance (LSDBA).
An overseas transfer allowance of £1,073,100 also applies. This is the total value of pensions you can transfer to a Qualifying Recognised Overseas Pension Scheme. Any amount in excess of this limit will be subject to a 25% tax charge.
The annual allowance is the amount your pension savings can increase by in a year without you having to pay extra tax. If your savings increase by more than the annual allowance, you will have to pay tax on the excess. The standard annual allowance increased from £40,000 to £60,000 on 6 April 2023.
More information about tax limits can be found at Tax - LGPS (lgpsmember.org) or www.gov.uk/tax-on-your-private-pension.
You may wish to seek advice from a financial adviser. Please visit Money Helper for information on finding a suitably qualified adviser.
The figures quoted include the deduction for any Divorce or Annual Allowance Scheme Pays Debit if these are applicable to you, providing that the effective date was before 1 April 2024.
If your LGPS pension savings exceed the standard AA for the year ending 5 April 2024, we will contact you by 6 October 2024 to let you know. Please note that Pension Savings Statements for those that may exceed the Annual Allowance for the pension input year 6 April 2023 to 5 April 2024 will be issued separately to this statement.
When public service pension schemes changed from final salary schemes to career average schemes in 2014, older members were protected from the changes. In 2018, the Courts found that younger members had been discriminated against because the protection did not apply to them. Changes made to the LGPS from 1 October 2023 removes the discrimination. These changes are called the McCloud remedy. Not all LGPS members are affected by the changes (we anticipate very few to be).
As a member of the LGPS, you do not need to take any action to claim your protection under the McCloud remedy. Those that are will be given additional information in their 2025 annual benefit statement, which will be issued by 31 August 2025. If you qualify, the pension fund will automatically apply the protection when you take your LGPS pension.
If you are contacted by a third-party organisation selling a service to help you claim additional pension, you should not engage with them. Please let us know if this happens so we can report any potential scammers.
You can find more information on the national LGPS website, including a short video. Please visit: What is the McCloud Remedy? :: LGPS
Pension scams are on the increase and millions of people fall victim to this every year, where they are tricked into handing over their pension pots by scammers.
Unsure if something may be a scam? You’re not alone.
Here are some pension scam warning signs you can be on the watch-out for...
Please contact us if you believe you are being targeted as part of a pensions scam or visit the websites below.
www.fca.org.uk/consumers/pension-scams
www.eastsussexpensionfund.org/help-support/avoiding-pension-scams/
Information on how to spot a scam can be found on The Pensions Regulator website at www.thepensionsregulator.gov.uk/pension-scams.
You should always seek independent financial advice from an adviser authorised by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). You can also visit the ScamSmart website www.fca.org.uk/scamsmart to check if a firm is regulated.
The East Sussex Pension Fund is a Data Controller under the General Data Protection Regulations. This means we store, hold, and manage your personal data in line with statutory requirements to enable us to provide you with pension administration services. To enable us to carry out our statutory duty, we are required to share your information with certain bodies but will only do so in limited circumstances, for more information about how we hold your data, who we share it with and what rights you have to request information from the Fund.
Please read either our:
Email: [email protected]
Phone (general enquiries): 0300 200 1022
Phone (My Pension – member self-service enquiries): 0300 200 1027