Transferring in

Overview

You may be able to transfer pensions you already have into the LGPS. What this would mean for you depends on what type of scheme you were a member of. You can find out more about the different types of transfers in the sections below.

Transferring your pension is not an easy decision to make. You may wish to get help from a qualified independent financial adviser.

Contact your pension fund to find out more about the pension transfer process. You will generally have 12 months from joining the LGPS to opt to transfer your previous pension.

You cannot transfer a pension credit into the LGPS. A pension credit is a share of an ex-spouse’s or ex-civil partner’s pension that a Court awards you under a Pension Sharing Order following a divorce or dissolution of a civil partnership.

LGPS benefits

If you were previously a member of the LGPS in England or Wales and you re-join the Scheme, you can join your two periods of membership together. When you re-join the LGPS, you should Contact your pension fund to tell them that you have been a member of the Scheme before. They will let you know:

what your choices are
what you need to think about when you are making your decision
the time limits for making your decision
what happens if you do not make a decision within the time limit.

In most cases, your deferred benefits will be joined with your pension account automatically unless you elect to keep them separate. You must elect for separate benefits within a year of re-joining the LGPS, unless your employer allows you longer.

Different rules apply depending on what type of LGPS benefits you have, when you left the LGPS and how long you were a member:

You were a member of the LGPS in two jobs at the same time and one of the jobs ends. You can find out about what this means for you in the FAQs section.
You did not build up a right to a deferred pension in your earlier period of membership. This would generally be the case if you were in the LGPS for less than two years. If you haven’t taken a refund of pension contributions, then this deferred refund must be joined with your new pension account.
You left the LGPS with a deferred pension before 1 April 2014. You would have to elect to join your deferred benefit with your active pension account. If you do not make an election, then the deferred benefits will remain separate. You must make your election within a year of re-joining the LGPS, unless your employer allows you longer.
You opted out after 11 April 2015 with a deferred benefit. You will not be allowed to join this with your active pension account if you re-join the LGPS. You will have two separate pension accounts in the LGPS.
Your LGPS pension is in payment. You cannot join an LGPS pension in payment with an active pension account if you re-join the Scheme. You will have two separate sets of pension benefits in the LGPS.
You were awarded a pension credit in the LGPS following a divorce or dissolution of a civil partnership. You cannot join a pension credit with an active LGPS pension account. You will have two sets of pension benefits in the LGPS.

It may not always be in your interest to join a deferred benefit with your active pension account. You should Contact your pension fund when you join the LGPS to tell them that you have been a member of the Scheme before. They will let you know your options and what you should think about when you make your decision. It is important that you think about your options carefully and that you are aware of the deadlines that apply. You will not be able to change your decision later.

Additional Voluntary Contributions

If you have paid Additional Voluntary Contributions (AVCs) to the LGPS in England or Wales, the value of your AVCs must be transferred to an AVC arrangement offered by your new pension fund if you re-join the LGPS and combine your main scheme benefits.

You may have paid AVCs to a different scheme or paid Free Standing AVCs. You can transfer these AVCs into the LGPS to buy extra LGPS pension. You have 12 months from joining the LGPS to elect to transfer your AVC rights unless your employer and your pension fund allow you longer. This is a discretion. You can ask your pension fund and employer what their policy is on late transfers.

Benefits in another public service pension scheme

If you were previously a member of another public service pension scheme, your pension fund may accept a transfer under preferential rules known as the Club transfer rules. These special terms apply if you have not had a break in membership of a public service pension scheme of more than five years. Club transfer rules will not apply if you request a transfer more than a year after you join the LGPS.

Public service pension schemes include schemes for civil servants, the armed forces, teachers, health service workers, fire and rescue workers, the police force, the judiciary and the LGPS in England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.

If your pension funds accepts a transfer under the Club transfer rules, the amount of extra pension added to your pension account will be broadly equal to the amount of pension you had built up in your previous scheme. The amount is adjusted to take into account any differences between the two schemes.

The extra pension will be added to your pension account in the Scheme year that your pension fund receives the transfer payment.

The transferred in amount will be increased by the revaluation rate that applied in the previous scheme while you remain an active member of the LGPS.

You have 12 months from joining the LGPS to opt to transfer your previous pension rights, unless your employer and your pension fund allow you longer. This is a discretion. You can ask your employer and pension fund what their policy is on late transfers.

Final salary membership

You may have built up final salary benefits if you joined the other public service pension scheme before 1 April 2015. That part of the transfer would buy final salary scheme membership in the LGPS, provided you have not had a disqualifying gap. A disqualifying gap is a continuous break in membership of a public service pension scheme of more than five years.

If all or part of the transfer value buys final salary benefits, these may be accepted under the preferential Club transfer rules. A Club transfer will give you benefits in the LGPS that are broadly equivalent to the benefits you had in the other scheme. Club transfer rules:

will generally not apply if you request a transfer more than a year after you join the LGPS
will not apply if you join the LGPS more than five years after you left the scheme in which you built up the benefits you want to transfer

Final salary benefits are based on your membership in the Scheme and your final pay when you leave. Your final salary is usually the pensionable pay you earn in the last year you are a member. You can see an example of how final salary benefits built up in the LGPS before April 2014 on the How your pension is worked out page.

Transferring your pension rights is not always an easy decision to make. You may wish to get help from an independent financial adviser.

Transfers and the McCloud remedy

If you are thinking about transferring in benefits that you built up in another public service pension scheme between 1 April 2015 and 31 March 2022, they may be protected by the McCloud remedy. The remedy in the LGPS is very different from the remedy in the other public service pension schemes. You should read the information about the transfer very carefully to make sure that you understand how your benefits would be protected.

Other pension rights

You may be able to transfer pension rights into the LGPS from:

a previous employer’s pension scheme
a self-employed pension plan
a pension ‘buy-out’ policy
a personal pension plan
a stakeholder pension scheme
an Additional Voluntary Contributions (AVC) arrangement.

The arrangement you transfer from must normally be another registered pension scheme or a European pensions institution. You may be able to transfer in pension benefits from an approved overseas pension scheme. Your pension fund may refuse to accept a transfer from a pension scheme other than the LGPS.

Your previous pension scheme will offer a sum of money called a transfer value. That transfer value would buy an amount of extra pension in the LGPS. Your request to investigate a transfer is not binding until you have seen an estimate of the amount of extra pension the transfer value would buy and confirmed that you want the transfer to go ahead.

You will need to consider carefully whether to transfer. A transfer may not always be the best decision for you. You should compare the value of the package of benefits you have with your current provider with what you would get in the LGPS. You should consider:

the estimated amount of extra pension the transfer payment would buy in the LGPS
when that pension is payable from – your Normal Pension Age
the other benefits offered by the LGPS – such as early retirement before your Normal Pension Age, ill health benefits and survivor benefits.

You have a year from joining the LGPS to opt to transfer your previous pension unless your employer and pension fund allow you longer. This is a discretion. You can ask your employer and pension fund what their policy is on late transfers.

If you decide to proceed with the transfer, the extra pension will be added to your pension account in the Scheme year that your pension fund receives the transfer payment.

Transferring your pension rights is not always an easy decision to make. You may wish to get help from an independent financial adviser.

Local Government Pension Scheme