If your school is converting to an academy, or if your academy is joining a multi-academy trust, you will need to contact us at your earliest convenience for important information.

Actual pensionable pay is the pay an employee receives that counts towards their pension calculation and on which contributions are paid. It is also used to determine their contribution rate. 

Employees can choose to pay into an AVC plan to boost their retirement income. Find information designed to assist payroll providers with the administration of AVCs.

Your annual allowance is the amount your pension savings can increase by in a year without having to pay extra tax. If you go over the allowance, you will have to pay tax on the excess. 

We must provide you with an annual statement by 31 August every year if you are an active or deferred member. Your statement provides an estimate of the pension benefits you have built up in the LGPS by 31 March in the current year. 

You can book an appointment to speak to a Pension Fund Officer face-to-face or over the phone if your query isn’t covered on our website and needs a discussion. 

Assumed pensionable pay is applied if an employee has a period of authorised paid leave which results in reduced pay and ensures the calculation of their pension is not negatively affected by this. 

Employers must put certain staff into a workplace pension scheme and contribute towards it. This is called ‘automatic enrolment’. There are certain legal duties that employers will need to be aware of with regard to this. 

If you need to change the bank account that your pension is being paid into, you can do so by completing the Pensions change of bank account form and send it back to the address at the bottom of the form. Alternatively, you can contact us for a copy.

Employer bulletins are regularly produced to keep you up to date with the latest developments. 

Members retiring on efficiency grounds aged 55 or over and with at least 2 years membership will be entitled to immediate benefits. The process is very similar to redundancy and information regarding this can be found on our page. 

Employers will need to supply a final pay figure for members with entitlement to final salary benefits. This will need to be included in the ePen3 form that must be provided when they leave. 

How much pension you build up is based on your pay and when you have joined the LGPS Scheme. 

If you are not satisfied with how your benefits are processed, any decision we give, or the service we provide, you can raise a complaint, and we will work with you to resolve any issues.

If your enquiry is not covered on our website or you want to discuss something with us, you can contact us. 

Active scheme members pay contributions to the LGPS. Your contribution rate is based on how much you earn. Your employer also contributes towards your pension. You can find out what contributions you pay and information about how your contributions attract tax relief.

You can determine your employee’s appropriate contribution rate by reference to a pay band. Employers must determine which pay band is appropriate. This process must be carried out with effect from 1 April each year. 

If a scheme member dies in service, there are important actions that must be carried out promptly. 

If you leave the LGPS Scheme, your pension benefits will be kept on hold until you reach your retirement age, unless you transfer your pension. They are inflation proof and linked to cost-of-living increases. Find out if you are entitled to deferred benefits.

When going through a divorce, the court will take the value of your pension into account in your settlement. 

Your employer contributes to the LGPS Scheme to pay for your pension benefits. Every 3 years their contribution rate is assessed to establish how much they should be paying, after taking into account investment returns.

The scheme rules require employers to have a policy in place to cover certain areas where they have discretionary powers. A guide and a template are available to assist employers in managing their policy. 

Employers will need to complete an ePen3 form for most of their members who leave the scheme to ensure that the correct pension benefits are calculated and paid to the member. 

Under the pension scheme rules, it is possible to retire from the age of 55 and receive pension benefits without completely leaving your employment. This will only be possible with the agreement of your employer, who will have a policy on flexible retirement. 

Under the pension scheme rules, it is possible for employees to retire from the age of 55 and receive pension benefits immediately without completely leaving employment. Employers will have a policy on flexible retirement and approval must be given before benefits can be released. 

You can find answers to frequently asked questions, not specifically for Leicestershire, but affecting all LGPS Scheme members.

Find the meaning of commonly used terms relating to pensions.

The Fund has a number of policies, strategies, and plans in place to ensure that obligations to members, employers, and stakeholders are met.

Employer will need to submit monthly data to the Fund through i-Connect, our secure online portal. This enables pension records to be kept up to date. You can also upload the ePen3 leavers form using i-Connect. 

If you cannot work because of illness, your pension benefits may be paid to you, regardless of your age. However, there is a specific process that must be followed.

Employers can decide to grant ill health retirement to its members. The decision will be made with reference to the advice given by the Independent Registered Medical Practitioner on the ill health certificate. Details of the process to follow can be found on our page. 

The LGPS provides opportunities to pay increased contributions to boost your pension benefits. You can pay either Additional Pension Contributions (APCs) or Additional Voluntary Contributions (AVCs). 

Information to assist you when selecting an Independent Registered Medical Practitioner.

Contributions from employees and employers are invested by the Pension Fund to generate returns, ensuring the fund can pay benefits to its members.

If you start a job eligible for membership in the LGPS, you will be automatically brought into the scheme if your contract is for 3 months or more. If the contract is for less than 3 months, you have the option to join. If you would like to join, please contact your payroll section.

Useful information related to enrolling your employees into the LGPS Scheme.

If you leave your employment before retirement age, there are options available to you, depending on whether you meet the 2-year qualifying period or not. 

The lump sum allowance limits the amount of tax-free cash you can take from your pension. 

Following a court ruling, the McCloud judgement was implemented to ensure protections were in place for members deemed to be ‘in-scope’ regardless of age. Not all members are affected by the changes. 

We’ll keep you informed about the latest updates, important notices, and developments to the Leicestershire County Council Pension Fund. 

If a scheme member has passed away, you can use the Tell Us Once service to notify most government organisations in one go.

If you have decided to opt-out of the LGPS, you will need to complete an opt out form and send it to your employer's payroll office.

If you are paid a pension from the Fund, you will receive an annual P60 statement. The P60 will be available on your My Pension account.

The Fund has a number of policies, strategies, and plans in place to ensure that obligations to members, employers, and stakeholders are met. 

Millions of people fall victim to pension scams every year. Anyone can be the victim of a pension scam, no matter how financially savvy they think they are. People may be tricked into handing over their entire pension savings to scammers. Learn how to spot the signs and protect yourself. 

A PSR number is allocated as an identifier to the pension scheme by the Pensions Regulator. The Leicestershire County Council Pension Fund PSR number is 10079136.

A PSTR number is a reference allocated an identifier to the pension scheme by HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC). The Leicestershire County Council Pension Fund PSTR number is 00328856RQ. 

The contributions you pay into the LGPS are tax-free, but there are limits. Generally, this only affects high earners.  

Pensioner payslips are available through your My Pension account. We do not issue new pensioners with a printed payslip via the post. 

Your pension is increased in line with the cost of living in order to maintain its spending power. The increase is based on the Consumer Prices Index. 

Pensions staff are available to speak at presentations (in-person or online) on LGPS-related topics, such as a general overview of the scheme and retirement.

It is possible to reduce your pension contributions and remain in the scheme. You can do this by joining the 50/50 scheme.

Learn what happens with your pension if you lose your job because of redundancy.  

When a member is made redundant, pension benefits are paid immediately where employees are aged 55 or over and have been scheme members for at least 2 years. Our page includes the process to follow and the forms to be completed. 

You can take your LGPS pension at any time from age 55 to age 75 if you have 2 years of scheme membership.  

When you retire, provided you have 2 years of membership, we will calculate your pension benefits, known as pension options, and inform you within 10 working days. You must then notify us of your retirement choice, and we will process it.

Find out about our role and purpose, key challenges and response times.

Find out what happens to your pension if you are on sick leave, parental leave, authorised unpaid leave, on strike, or on reserve forces leave. 

Information about scheme members who leave before being eligible to claim their pension. 

Information for town and parish councils who are considering admitting their employees to the LGPS. Learn about any potential funding concerns and risks of becoming a scheme employer. 

The LGPS has put together some bite-size training resources covering various topics that may be of interest to employers.

Find out how to transfer your pension if you leave the LGPS to join another scheme and protect yourself from pension scams.

Transfer of Undertakings Protection of Employment (TUPE) protects employees when the business they work for changes ownership. 

Information in respect of members who retire voluntarily can be found on our page, including answers to questions you may have about the process.