Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS)

If you have a contract of 3 months or more you will be contractually enrolled into the Local Government Pension Scheme automatically.

All new starters should receive a Membership form (LGP2) designed for new starters who are brought into the scheme

If you have a contract of less than three months or have a casual post with no mutuality of obligation you can apply to join the LGPS scheme at any time. If you have previously opted out of the scheme you can re-join at any time. Election to join forms (LGP101) are available from the website www.mpfmembers.org.uk for each post you wish to make an election.

If you have not received a membership form (LGP2) please contact central pensions on 0151 934 3550 or via email to Centralpensions@sefton.gov.uk or you can download a membership form from the website.

The contribution rate you pay in the LGPS is based on how much you are paid. The rate you pay depends on which pay band you fall into. There are nine different pay bands with contribution rates ranging from 5.5% to 12.5% of your pensionable pay. https://mpfmembers.org.uk/content/new-employee-contribution-pay-bands

• Normal salary or wages
• Shift allowance
• Bonuses
• Overtime (both contractual and non-contractual)
• Maternity Pay
• Paternity Pay
• Adoption Pay
• Shared Parental Pay and
• Any other taxable benefit specified in your contract as being pensionable.

• Travelling or subsistence allowances
• Pay in lieu of notice
• Pay in lieu of loss of holidays
• Payment as an inducement not to leave before the payment is made
• Any award of compensation (other than payment representing arrears of pay) made for the purpose of achieving equal pay
• Pay relating to loss of future pensionable payments or benefits
• Pay paid by your employer if you go on reserve forces service leave
• The monetary value of a car or pay received in lieu of a car (apart from some historical cases).

When you are a member of the LGPS there may be times when you are in difficult financial circumstances and consider opting out of the scheme to save money.

The LGPS offers you the flexibility to stay in the scheme at such times and continue to build up valuable pension benefits. You can elect to pay half your normal contributions and build up half your normal pension. This is known as joining the 50/50 section of the LGPS.

You can elect to pay half your normal contributions and build up half your normal pension. This is known as joining the 50/50 section of the LGPS. If you are paying contributions in more than one job, you can elect for the 50/50 option in one, some, or all your individual employments. Regardless of which section you are in, you receive full life assurance cover.

FAQ’s can be found at the following link.https://mpfmembers.org.uk/content/frequently-asked-questions-about-5050-section

Although membership of the Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS) is automatic in many cases, it isn't compulsory - you can cancel your membership at any time. This is called 'opting out'.

If you are thinking of opting out you might want to first consider an alternative option which is to elect to move to the 50/50 section of the Scheme. The 50/50 section allows you to pay half your normal contributions in return for half your normal pension build up.

If you opt out of the LGPS before completing 3 months membership you will be treated as never having been a member and your employer will refund the contributions to you through your pay.

If you wish to opt out of the LGPS within your first 3 months of membership, you must complete an election form which you can download from www.mpfmembers.org.uk/optout or contact the fund directly on 0151 242 1397 to request a form. Completed forms must be returned to the Council’s Payroll Department, 2nd Floor, Magdalen House Bootle.

For membership of 3 months or more contact a member of the Merseyside Pension Fund on 0151 242 1392 to request an opt out form. https://mpfmembers.org.uk/content/if-you-wish-opt-out-3-or-more-months-membership

The normal pension age in the LGPS is linked to your State Pension Age (but with a minimum of age 65) You can choose to retire and draw your pension from the LGPS at any time from age 55 to 75, provided you have met the 2 years vesting period in the Scheme. 

If you choose to take your pension before your Normal Pension Age it will normally be reduced, as it is being paid earlier. If you take it later than your Normal Pension Age it is increased because it is being paid later. You must draw your benefits in the LGPS before your 75^th birthday. 

Useful documents

Reduction factors for early access of pension from age 55

This applies only if you were a member of the LGPS at any time between 1 April 1998 and 30 September 2006, some or all of your benefits could be protected from an early payment reduction under the 85 year rule. The only occasion where this protection does not automatically apply is if you choose to voluntarily draw your pension on or after age 55 and before age 60. Please refer to the following link for more details of the protections in place. https://www.lgpsmember.org/more/eightyfive.php

The 85 year rule protections do not automatically apply if the member decides to voluntarily draw benefits on or after age 55 and before age 60. All your benefits are reduced if you choose to draw your pension before your Normal Pension Age. The reduction will be based on how many years before your Normal Retirement Age (protected Normal Pension Age for pension built up before 1 April 2014) and new Normal Pension Age (linked to State Pension Age for pension built up from 1 April 2014) to the date you draw your benefits https://www.lgpsmember.org/tol/thinking-leaving-when.php

If you would like an estimate of your normal retirement benefits you can request up to one a year from the pension team by contacting them on 0151 934 3550 or by emailing your request to Centralpensions@sefton.gov.uk The team cannot do an estimate more than twelve months in advance and cannot provide any redundancy quotes.

Please note that estimates are currently taking up to 8 weeks to process due to the high volume of requests. We are working to get them to you as quickly as possible so please bear with us and remember to add your employee number and date of pension release to your request to the team.

Employees are now able to produce their own estimates on MyPension online, using Merseyside Pension Funds online benefit projector. If you need any assistance using the projector please contact the team on 0151 934 2072

To log in to MyPension: Login - altair Member Self-Service (wirral.gov.uk)

To register for MyPension: MyPension Activation Request | Merseyside Pension Fund (mpfmembers.org.uk)

If  you wish to access your benefits on the basis of the figures in your estimate please request a final calculation via centralpensions@sefton.gov.uk to confirm the figures are correct stating “actual retirement request following My Pension estimate”and retirement date and employee number.

You can usually transfer other pension rights into the Local Government Pension Scheme. Employees in England and Wales can transfer

• previous LGPS pension rights

• from another pension scheme you had in a previous job

• from your personal or stakeholder pension

• Additional Voluntary Contributions

Please note you only have 12 months from joining the LGPS to opt to transfer pension rights. You must request a transfer value from Merseyside Pension Fund by completing a membership form (LGP2) within 12 months of joining the scheme.

Where an employee is absent due to strike action the period will not count for pension purposes unless they choose to buy extra pension to replace the amount lost.

The amount of lost pension shall be calculated as 1/49th of the assumed pensionable pay (APP) during the period of strike if they were in the main section during that period, or 1/98th of the APP for the period of strike if they were in the 50/50 section during that period. Note that an employee can commence an APC in this circumstance even if they are in the 50/50 section.

The cost to purchase the amount of lost pension for the period of absence will be fully met by the employee; the employer does not make any contribution towards this buy back.

A letter will be issued after any period of industrial action offering the opportunity to buy back the pension lost and the cost to do so.

A member can choose whether or not to pay contributions to cover pension “lost” during a period of authorised unpaid leave of absence including unpaid additional maternity, paternity adoption leave following a relevant period of child related leave (i.e. ordinary maternity, paternity or adoption leave) via an Additional Pension Contribution (APC) based on age and gender.

Unpaid special leave

Pay will be deducted relative to the number of hours worked on each day special leave is granted and will not build up pension benefits. You can elect to cover the period of pension “lost” by taking out a Shared Cost Additional Pension Contribution (SCAPC) contract.

If you wish to purchase any “lost pension” please refer to the following link where you can calculate the cost to purchase using the deduction figure for unpaid leave on your payslip. Buy lost pension calculator :: LGPS (lgpsmember.org)

If you wish to purchase, please print and send a copy to centralpensions@sefton.gov.uk within 30 days of the absence to ensure a shared cost between you and employer. Any requests after the 30 days are at a whole cost to the employee. You can contact the team on 0151 934 3550, 3509 or 4126 for further information.

Further information and application forms for special leave are available here Special Leave

Authorised additional unpaid parental leave

For any additional unpaid parental leave only, employees may complete the request form issued with their parental leave letter issued at the start of the leave period upon returning to work. They may request figures from the pensions team for any additional unpaid parental leave to purchase lost pension which will be issued upon request only via the request form if you have lost the form please contact payroll to issue a copy.

Additional pension contributions (APCs) provide scheme members with the ability to buy extra annual pension up to a maximum of £6,755. This will be increased each April by Pensions Increase (assuming a PI date 1st April).The cost (a cash amount not a percentage) is determined by the employee’s age and the amount they wish to purchase. This replaces Additional Regular Contributions (ARCs) for contracts taken after 31 March 2014. (Existing ARC contracts will remain in force).

Merseyside Pension Fund can require the member to produce a report by a registered medical practioner of the results of a medical examination (undertaken at the members own expense) and can refuse an APC contract application if they are not satisfied that the member is in reasonably good health. Subject to that, a member can enter into an APC contract. https://mpfmembers.org.uk/content/how-can-i-pay-more-increase-my-benefits

All local government pension funds have an in-house Additional Voluntary Scheme (AVC) where you can invest money, deducted directly from your pay, through an AVC provider. Merseyside Pension Fund has a choice of two current providers: Standard Life or Prudential, and one provider which is now closed to new contributors: Equitable Life.

AVC funds should grow as they are invested and will be available later in your life to convert into; an additional pension of your choice, a tax free lump sum or a combination of both.

For more details about investing in an in-house AVC and to receive a quotation, contact the Fund's Additional Benefits Advisor on 0151 242 1380 or refer to the website https://mpfmembers.org.uk/content/how-can-i-pay-more-increase-my-benefits.

Taking your Additional Voluntary Contributions

Taking your Additional Voluntary Contributions :: LGPS (lgpsmember.org)

Important Note for retirement/redundancy leavers

If you have an in-house AVC contract your final payment will be made in the month/week prior to your leaving date for retirement or redundancy. This is due to the complexities of the investment and withdrawal process of your funds. These can only be calculated following receipt of the final payment from your pay. This will avoid any delays in processing the payment of your pension benefits.

However there is a statutory entitlement to make an AVC contribution from your final pay period and you may advise  Merseyside Pension Fund  to instruct your employer to deduct a payment in the final month. 

Local Government Pension Scheme - employee's Information
The guaranteed benefits are:

A Death Grant of three years' pensionable pay if you die in service.

• Children's Pensions
• An Index Linked Pension for life* 
• A Spouse's Pension* 
• Immediate payment of benefits at any age if you have to retire due to ill-health* 
• Early payment of benefits if you are age 55 or over and you are made redundant or have to retire in the interests of efficiency
• The earliest benefits can be bought into payment is 55*

N.B. * these benefits require a minimum of 2 years service.

If you are age 55 or older, you may be able to receive your LGPS pension and continue working in your job. This is called flexible retirement. This is a discretionary provision and the Council has agreed to consider requests, as part of the Flexible Working Procedure, where there is clear operational or financial advantage to the Council.

• The normal pension age in the LGPS is 65 or your State Pension age if it is later. Your pension may be reduced if you take flexible retirement before then.
• You will need your employer’s permission to take flexible retirement and you will have to reduce your hours or grade in line with Council policy.
• You will continue to pay into the LGPS and build up another, separate pension unless you opt out.
• Only the pension you are contributing to will be paid. If you have any deferred LGPS pensions they will not be paid at the same time.

Please refer to the following link to see full details of the Councils Flexible Retirement Policy and procedure.

Flexible Retirement Policy Page.

If you have to leave work due to illness you may be able to receive immediate payment of your benefits.

You will need to be assessed for Ill Health Retirement by an independent occupational health physician appointed by Sefton. This can be arranged through your line manager via our Occupational Health unit by contacting Russell Taylor on 0151 934 4504.

To qualify for ill health benefits, you must have met the 2 years vesting period in the Local Government Pension Scheme. Sefton Council, as your employer, must be satisfied that you will be permanently unable to do your own job until your Normal Pension Age and that you are not immediately capable of undertaking gainful employment based on an opinion from their appointed independent occupational health physician. 

Ill health benefits can be paid at any age and are not reduced on account of early payment – in fact, your benefits could be increased to make up for your early retirement. 

There are graded levels of benefit based on how likely you are to be capable of gainful employment after you leave. Gainful employment means paid employment for not less than 30 hours in each week for a period of not less than 12 months.

The different levels of benefit are:

Tier 1 - If you are unlikely to be capable of gainful employment before your Normal Pension Age

Ill health benefits are based on the pension you have already built up in your pension account at your date of leaving the Scheme plus the pension you would have built up had you been in the main section of the Scheme until you reached your Normal Pension Age.

Tier 2 - If you are unlikely to be capable of gainful employment within 3 years of leaving,but are likely to be capable of doing so before yourNormal Pension Age

Ill health benefits are based on the pension you have already built up in your pension account at your date of leaving the Scheme plus 25% of the pension you would have built up had you been in the main section of the scheme until you reached your Normal Pension Age.

Tier 3 - If you are likely to be capable of gainful employment within 3 years of leaving, or before your Normal Pension Age if earlier

If the member is likely to be capable of undertaking gainful employment within three years of leaving employment, then the member's pension benefits will be paid unreduced for no more than three years with a review after 18 months (see below). The pension will then be reinstated once they reach retirement age. Ill health benefits are based on the pension you have already built up in your pension account at leaving. 

18 Month Review

If the member has retired under tier 3 ill health, the Council must contact the member after 18 months, unless the member will be over state pension age at the date of the review. This review is to determine whether the person has undertaken any gainful employment and if they have not, it is to determine whether:

• The member is capable of undertaking gainful employment, and if so the pension will stop;
• The member's condition has deteriorated and therefore the pension increased to a tier 2 ill health; or
• There is no change and the pension continues for a further 18 months;

It is the employer who makes the decision and advises Merseyside Pension Fund member of the decision and the date the determination was made. If the decision has been made to award a tier 2 ill health retirement, Merseyside Pension Fund will contact the member with details of the new pension payment.

Retirement is available from age 55 in the Local Government Pension Scheme but will be subject to an actuarial reduction if drawn before normal pension age (see above –When can I draw my benefits).

When you decide you want to retire you need to follow the steps listed below;

• Request an estimate from our pension team by emailing Centralpensions@sefton.gov.uk and provide a date you would like to finish. An estimate of benefits will be sent to your home address and this will highlight any actuarial reductions that may apply.

• Once you have made your decision you must confirm your intended resignation date in writing to your line manager giving the appropriate notice.

• Your manger will notify payroll and pensions of your leaving date.

• The pensions team will send out a final estimate and a LGP1B form to complete for Merseyside Pension Fund (MPF) so you to access your pension. You can state any conversion of pension to lump sum in this form if required.

• You will need to provide photocopies of your birth certificate, marriage/civil partnership certificate and birth certificate of your spouse/partner to send with your completed forms to MPF.

• Merseyside Pension Fund will pay your pension and lump sum with your first payment on or around the 10th of each month and your pension will be paid monthly thereafter.

Important Note for retirement/redundancy leavers

If you have an in-house AVC contract your final payment will be made in the month/week prior to your leaving date for retirement or redundancy. This is due to the complexities of the investment and withdrawal process of your funds. These can only be calculated following receipt of the final payment from your pay. This will avoid any delays in processing the payment of your pension benefits.

However there is a statutory entitlement to make an AVC contribution from your final pay period and you may advise  Merseyside Pension Fund  to instruct your employer to deduct a  payment in the final month. 

If you are aged 55 or over, your main benefits are payable immediately without any early retirement reductions if you are made redundant or you are retired on the grounds of business efficiency and you have met the 2 years vesting period in the Scheme.

However, any additional pension paid for by Additional Pension Contributions or Shared Cost Additional Pension Contributions would be paid at a reduced rate if the retirement occurred before your Normal Pension Age (to take account of the additional pension being paid for longer).

If you were a member of the LGPS before 1 April 2014, the pension you built up before then is based on your final salary when you leave the Scheme.

Also, if you have bought additional pension by Additional Regular Contributions, that additional pension would be paid at a reduced rate if the retirement occurred before your pre 1 April 2014 Normal Pension Age which, for most, is age 65.

If you are aged under 55 when you are made redundant or retired on the grounds of business efficiency, you will be entitled to deferred benefits. A deferred benefit is a pension benefit that is retained in the LGPS until it becomes payable or is transferred out of the Fund.

Important Note for retirement/redundancy leavers

If you have an in-house AVC contract your final payment will be made in the month/week prior to your leaving date for retirement or redundancy. This is due to the complexities of the investment and withdrawal process of your funds. These can only be calculated following receipt of the final payment from your pay. This will avoid any delays in processing the payment of your pension benefits. You can request to make a double payment in the pay period preceding your leaving date by contacting Merseyside Pension Fund.

If you wish to express an interest in voluntary redundancy please contact the Corporate HR Department via email at HR@sefton.gov.uk or contact a member of the Corporate HR Department.

You are under no obligation to pursue your expression of interest.

Please note there is no guarantee that redundancy will be approved and approval is subject to the needs of the department and authorisation of the Assistant Director.

Re-enrolment into a Pension Scheme 1st April 2019

Every 3 years the Council must put certain staff back into their relevant pension scheme.

If you have opted out of your pension scheme more than twelve months ago, the Council as your employer must re-enrol you back into that scheme under auto enrolment legislation. If you meet the criteria on our assessment date 1^st April 2019 you will be brought back into your qualifying pension scheme.  Affected staff will be written to.

You have the right to opt out of the pension scheme again. To opt out you will need to complete a new opt out form which is obtainable from your relevant pension scheme website. 

Please note you cannot opt out until you have been enrolled back into the scheme.

Employees in the 50/50 section of the Local Government Pension Scheme will be re-enrolled into the main section of the scheme, again affected staff will be written to. You will be able to re-join the 50/50 section by completing the relevant form that can be found on the pension website.

Our re-enrolment date is 1^st April 2019.

If you have any queries please contact Lynn Abbott on 0151 934 4126.

Updated 09.04.19

Equalisation of Survivor’s Pensions paid to same sex spouses and civil partners

A change to the Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS) rules has been made to provide that following the death of a member of the LGPS, survivor’s benefits payable to a same-sex spouse or a registered civil partner, are equal those paid to the widow of a male member.  

Why has the change been made?

The change has been made as a result of a Supreme Court judgment (Walker v Innopsec) which found that Mr Walker’s male spouse was entitled to the same benefits that would have been paid had Mr Walker left a widow in an opposite-sex marriage.

Why does this apply to the LGPS?

The government believes that the implication of this judgment for the LGPS is that surviving registered civil partners or surviving same-sex spouses should be provided with benefits equal to those that would be left to the widow of a male member. 

When does the change take effect from?

The change is backdated to the date the civil partnerships and same sex marriages were introduced – this is 5 December 2005 for civil partnerships and 13 March 2014 for same sex marriages.

This means that where a member of the LGPS has died since the dates above, leaving a surviving registered civil partner or a same-sex spouse, the survivor’s pension in payment will need to be reviewed and any additional amounts paid, where applicable.

We are in the process of reviewing the impact of this change and will be contacting affected registered civil partners and same-sex spouses in due course.

The change will automatically be taken into account for deaths going forward.

Early payment of deferred benefits for leavers before 1 April 1998

In July 2018, Merseyside Pension Fund wrote to all deferred members who left the Scheme prior to April 2014 informing them of a change to Scheme rules which were changed to allow the payment of their deferred benefits from age 55 (rather than 60). 

The change to the rules means that the consent of former employers is no longer needed to draw deferred benefits between age 55 and your Normal Pension Age (NPA). Your NPA will be between age 60 and 65 depending on when you joined the scheme – you can find this information on your deferred benefit statement.

A further change to the rules has now been made which means that if you left the LGPS with deferred benefits before 1 April 1998, you no longer have to leave all local government employment to take payment of your deferred benefits.

This means that if you are working in another local government employment (i.e. a different employment to the one you were in when you built up your deferred benefit) you can now choose to take payment of your deferred benefit and continue in your local government employment.

This change is backdated to 17 April 2018.

Accessing your Pension Information Online

MyPension is Merseyside Pension Fund’s secure online service that allows Active, Deferred and Pensioner members to access Annual Benefit Statements, Pension Payslips and view other important pension information.

If you are not a registered user of MyPension you can register today at: http://mpfund.uk/register

Updated 09.04.19