Access Keys:
It is the LPFA's policy to issue an annual statement of prospective benefits to each active member and deferred member. Statements are issued approximately 14 weeks after receipt of your Annual Return of Contributions each year.
Where active members who are considering retirement require an up to date estimate of the benefits they will receive, or where such an estimate is required in connection with a possible ill-health retirement or redundancy, this will be supplied at the request of the employing authority. Requests for estimates should be made through the "Estimate Request" form on the secure part of the website www.yourfund.org.uk.
To use the form you must:
Alternatively, please speak to your normal LPFA contact and state the proposed date of leaving, the reason for leaving and an estimate of the final pay.
An active member of the LGPS is "contracted-out" for State Scheme purposes and will have a National Insurance contribution table letter of D, E or C.
On any return you make to the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) or to the Tax Office you should quote the following numbers:
Employer's Contracted-Out number ECON E3900002R
Scheme Contracted-Out number SCON S2700110L
Upon leaving the Scheme, steps have to be taken to ensure that the active member's State Scheme benefits are protected. It is therefore essential that the member's "contracted-out earnings" are entered on form LG/101 as follows:
Supplies of forms and booklets may be obtained by telephoning the person who you would contact at the LPFA, or through the LPFA's website. A list of forms is given in Appendix 6.
It is important that you notify the LPFA of any change in the name and/or address of your organisation as soon as they occur. Besides keeping our records up to date, we also notify the Registrar of Occupational Pension Schemes of the changes on your behalf.
It is also important that you notify the LPFA of any changes to your constitution or legal structure before they occur.
If an employee has a complaint, they should contact the LPFA to try and resolve the problem. The LPFA's Complaints Procedure is reproduced at Appendix 7.
In addition to our Complaints Procedure, under the LGPS Regulations, an employee who is dissatisfied with any decision made in relation to the Scheme has the right to have their complaint reviewed in accordance with our Internal Dispute Resolution Procedure (IDRP). See Appendix 7.
Should the person nominated by the body who made the decision fail to solve a complaint, the employee may, within six months of the date of the decision, apply to the LPFA to have it reconsidered. They may also contact The Pensions Advisory Service (TPAS) or, once the IDRP process has been exhausted, the Pensions Ombudsman. Details are given in Appendix 7.
Details of the Pension Regulator and their role are also given in Appendix 7.