The Future of the LGPS

The Future of the LGPS (Please note this page contains several links to external websites)

Introduction to the Local Government Pension Scheme
When most people first start working, a retirement pension is one of the last things they think about. As you get older and take on more responsibilities, you may begin to wonder how you will manage when you come to retire or what would happen to your family if anything happened to you. If you leave it too late there may not be time to build up a pension to meet your retirement needs. It is never too early to start a pension. As a member of the Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS), you belong to a scheme which provides access to high-quality pension benefits based on final pay. Please remember this site is only a guide. It is not an interpretation of the scheme regulations. The scheme regulations will be used to reach a decision in any dispute or disagreement.

About the LGPS
The LGPS is available for all local government employees in England and Wales, including those employees who are entitled to join the pension fund under an admission agreement agreed with the local administering authority. It is also open to non-teaching staff of grant-maintained schools and further and higher education colleges. The LGPS is set up by law, and benefit levels are set in legislation passed by Parliament. It is controlled by the Local Government Pension Scheme Regulations, which are made under the 1972 Superannuation Act. It is a contracted-out tax-free pension scheme. It meets the requirements of both the DWP and the HMRC, because it provides benefits at least the value of the state scheme, and within limits set by Parliament. This means that you pay lower national insurance contributions than an employee of a contracted-in scheme, and you receive tax relief on your contributions.

The LGPS is run locally by a county or district council, or London borough. The local administering authority guarantees to pay a pension. To meet this guarantee, each administering authority controls a pension fund which must be run completely separately from any other local government finances. The regulations which set the benefit levels also say that the LGPS funds must be valued every three years to make sure there is enough money to meet the pensions it guarantees. The regulations also lay down rules which the fund administrators and your employer must meet. Unlike personal pensions, your pension is not affected by how well investments perform. As a final salary scheme, you are guaranteed to receive a pension based on your pay in your last year of membership and the length of time you have been a member.

Misconduct
In certain circumstances members may lose their rights under the scheme or they may be reduced if you lose your job because you have been convicted of an offence so serious that it:

The LGPS is statutory scheme run by a section of Communities and Local Government: Workforce Pay and Pensions Division.

Workforce Pay and Pensions Division
Eland House, Bressenden Place, London SW1E 5DU

A new section of the Communities and Local Government's web site has been added to enable interested parties to access all relevant papers relating to the "new look" scheme arrangements announced in Parliament by the Minister for Local Government and Cohesion on 23rd November 2006.
See www.communities.gov.uk/lgps

The Workforce Pay and Pensions Division (formerly the Local Government and Firefighters' Pension Scheme Division) works to provide a secure, modernised statutory pension scheme for firefighters and local government employees in England and Wales.

Workforce Pay and Pensions Division - The Division is responsible for policy development, the regulatory framework and statutory appeal arrangements for the LGPS in England and Wales and the Firefighters' Pension Scheme, as well as advice on broader pension policy issues affecting both schemes. It also has responsibility for local government pay and workforce issues, including equal pay.

LGE represents employers' interests to central government and other bodies on local government pensions policy. They provide the secretariat service for the Local Government Pensions Committee (LGPC), a committee of councillors constituted by the Local Government Association (LGA), the Welsh Local Government Association (WLGA) and the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities (COSLA). The LGPC provides technical advice to Pension Fund Administering Authorities and to employers on the Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS) and on related compensation matters. We maintain a central suite of guides, booklets and publications. A full programme of pensions training for councillors, pensions practitioners, personnel officers and other employing authority staff with an interest in the LGPS is also available.

Disclaimer ... Please Read This Notice ...
While every care has been taken in the compilation of this information and every attempt made to present up-to-date and accurate information, we cannot guarantee that inaccuracies will not occur. Wolverhampton Council will not be held responsible for any loss, damage or inconvenience caused as a result of any inaccuracy or error within these pages. Links from this site lead to pages maintained by other organisations. These are provided purely for your convenience. They do not imply that the Council endorses or supports those organisations, the information on their pages, or their products or services in any way. No responsibility is assumed by the Council for the contents of their pages.
Copyright © Wolverhampton CC 2008.

Workforce Pay and Pensions Division Eland House, Bressenden Place, London SW1E 5DU

Workforce Pay and Pensions Division
Eland House, Bressenden Place, London SW1E 5DU