Sitemap
Home
Pension Fund Members
Active
Membership
MEMBERSHIP
Automatic enrolment
Previous pension pots
Contributions
What you pay
Time away from work
Time away from work
Adding to your pension
Benefits
BENEFITS
How we work out your pension
For service before 1 April 2014
Your lump sum choice
When you can retire
Ill health retirement
The 85-year rule
Protection
PROTECTION
Lump sum death grant
Partner’s benefits
Child’s benefits
Additional contributions
Leaving
LEAVING
Opting out
Deferred benefits
Deferred
Membership
MEMBERSHIP
Transferring out
Benefits
BENEFITS
Deferred benefits
Option to take more cash
When you can retire
Protection
PROTECTION
Lump sum death grant
Partner’s benefits
Child’s benefits
Additional contributions
Pensioner
Benefits
BENEFITS
Pension increases
Protection
PROTECTION
Lump sum death grant
Partner’s benefits
Child’s benefits
Additional contributions
Find out more
Member videos
MEMBER VIDEOS
Paying less (50:50 section)
PAYING LESS (50:50 SECTION)
McCloud judgement
MCCLOUD JUDGEMENT
State benefits
STATE BENEFITS
Divorce
DIVORCE
Getting the details you need
Splitting the benefits
Pension credits and tax
New partners
After the separation
Tax and pensions
TAX AND PENSIONS
Annual allowance
Lump sum allowances
Keeping in touch
Contacting us
Contacting you
Complaints and disputes
Where to get help
WHERE TO GET HELP
Local Government Pension Scheme information websites
Government websites on pensions
Financial services websites
Other useful websites
About us
ABOUT US
Running the national LGPS
The Pensions Advisory Panel
Local Pension Board
Organisation structure
Employer discretionary policies
Glossary
GLOSSARY
Accrual rate
Additional voluntary contributions (AVCs)
Automatic enrolment
Civil partner
Deferred benefits
Children
Final pay
Gainful employment
Co-habiting partner
Membership
Normal Pension Age (NPA)
Partner
Part-time
Pensionable pay
85-year rule
Training courses
TRAINING COURSES
Member documents
Member forms
Internal Dispute Resolution Procedure (IDRP) form
Nominated Partner Application Form
Notification of a Contributor Leaving
Details of New Entrant
Expression of Wish Form
Change of Address
Change of Bank Details UK
Application to leave the scheme
50-50 section election form
Presentations
McCloud judgement presentation
Internal Dispute Resolution Procedure (IDRP) presentation
Employer discretions presentation
Employer responsibilities presentation
Administrating additional voluntary contributions (AVCs) presentation
How the LGPS CARE scheme works presentation
Understanding how Pensionable Pay and pensionable service is calculated prior to 1 April 2014 presentation
Leavers presentation
Induction presentation
Flexible retirement presentation
Introduction to pensions presentation
Ill-health retirement presentation
Member factsheets
McCloud judgement factsheet
Internal Dispute Resolution Procedure (IDRP) training factsheet
Employer discretions factsheet
Employer responsibilities factsheet
Administrating additional voluntary contributions (AVCs) factsheet
How the LGPS CARE scheme works factsheet
Understanding how Pensionable Pay and pensionable service is calculated prior to 1 April 2014 factsheet
Leavers factsheet
Induction factsheet
Transferring pension factsheet
Type of retirement factsheet
Preserved benefits award factsheet
Flexible retirement factsheet
Internal Dispute Resolution Procedure (IDRP) factsheet
Increasing your future pension benefits
Pensionable Pay, Final Pay and Protections
Pensions on Divorce or the Dissolution of a Civil Partnership
Tax controls on pensions
FOI requests
Finance and Investment
Finance & Investment Documents
Statements & Reports
Property and Infrastructure Q2 24/25
LBS Annual Report 23/24
Funding Strategy Statement
Property and Infrastructure data June 2024
LBS Annual Report 22/23
LBS Annual Report 21/22
Property and Infra Data
Employer
Responsibilities
EMPLOYER AREA
RESPONSIBILITIES
Elements of pensionable pay
New Fund members
Year-end return
Guides
Section 1 - New employer to the Southwark Pension Fund?
Are you a new employer of the Southwark Pension Fund (the Fund)?
Disputes – Internal Dispute Resolution Procedure (IDRP)
Ill-health retirements
Employer discretions
Employer contributions
Strain costs
Additional pension award
Additional employer costs
First steps – what you need to do now
Access to the LGPS
What the Fund and Southwark Pension Services do
New employer checklist
Also in this section
Section 2 - Schools converting to a new academy in the Southwark Pension Fund
To Southwark Pension Services
Disputes – Internal Dispute Resolution Procedure (IDRP)
Ill-health retirements
Employer discretions
Employer contributions
Strain costs
Additional pension award
Additional employer costs
Fund deficit
Ready to go ahead? Here’s what you need to do now…
What will the Fund and Southwark Pension Services do?
New academy checklist
Also in this section
Section 3 - Eligibility to join the LGPS – employers and employees
Which employers are eligible to join the Scheme?
Which employees are eligible to join the Scheme?
Casuals/staff with contracts of less than three months
Staff who have previously opted out of the LGPS
Automatic enrolment
Opting in
Summary of entry provisions for new starters
Summary of entry provisions for eligible existing staff not already in the Scheme
Re-employed deferred or pensioner members
Re-employed members with deferred (preserved) benefits
Re-employed pensioners
Redundancy or ‘interest of efficiency’ pensioners – retired prior to 1 October 2006 and awarded compensatory added years
Opting out of the scheme
In summary…
Employers’ duties
Process for notification of a new member
Also in this section
Section 4 - The 50/50 section for members
The 50/50 section - flexibility for members to pay half rate contributions
Benefits of the 50/50 section
The 50/50 election is for a maximum of three years
Data requirements
Process for a member’s 50/50 election
Process for a member’s main section election
Also in this section
Section 5 - Automatic enrolment (AE)
AE key points for all employers
Continual monitoring of the workforce
Automatic re-enrolment
After automatic re-enrolment
Exceptions - when the AE duty is optional for employees
Also in this section
Section 6 - Employer and administering authority responsibilities in the LGPS
Employer and administering authority responsibilities
Employer responsibilities
Regarding a member’s participation in the LGPS
When a member is leaving
Other employer responsibilities outside of the LGPS
Employers’ obligations to provide information
Administering authority’s responsibilities
The administering authority must:
Admission agreements
Fund management
Death benefits
Transfers
APCs, AVCs, and SCAVCs
Members who leave the LGPS
Discretions/appeals
Annual benefit statements
Divorce cases
Also in this section
Section 7 - Employer discretion policies
The employer policy statements
A quick guide for policy preparations for employers
To fulfil your statutory duty as an employer of the LGPS
Tips to create your policy
Formulating and publishing a policy under the 2014 Scheme Regulations
Mandatory discretions that apply to current active members of the Scheme and those who left the Scheme after 31 March 2014
Scheme employers may wish to adopt written policies for all or some of these non-mandatory discretions
Mandatory discretions that apply to LGPS members who ceased active membership between 1 April 2008 and 31 March 2014
Mandatory discretions that apply to LGPS members who ceased active membership between 1 April 1998 and 31 March 2008
Mandatory discretions
Mandatory discretions
Also in this section
Section 8 - LGPS contributions guidance
Employer contributions
Employee contributions
Making payments
Assessing members’ pay for pension purposes
Annual increases
Revising the bands
Also in this section
Section 9 - LGPS monthly contribution payments and returns
Monthly returns
End of year data requirements
Also in this section
Section 10 - Guidance on Career Average Revalued Earnings (CARE) pay
Example one
Example two
Example three
Also in this section
Section 11 - Making changes to a member’s pension record
Change in the number of hours and/or weeks worked
Changes in Pensionable Pay or full-time equivalent pay
Unpaid leave (for reasons other than sickness or injury)
Reduced pay because of sickness or injury
Change of name, job/role title
Also in this section
Section 12 - Members buying additional LGPS pension
Regular contributions
APC payments during absences
Leaving employment early (retiring or ill-health)
Also in this section
Section 13 - Opting out of the LGPS
Opting out of the Scheme
Re-joining
Automatic-enrolment
The Opting Out Process
Also in this section
Section 14 - Annual Allowance limits (tax on LGPS pensions)
What is the AA?
Who will be affected by the AA?
How is the AA calculated?
Carry forward
Changes to the AA
Tapered Annual Allowance (TAA) for higher earners
Aligning the PIP with the tax year
AA flexible benefit access
How do you pay an AA tax charge?
Think you may have some members who are affected?
Also in this section
Section 15 - How to calculate full-time equivalent (FTE) pay under the 2007 Scheme definition
What is Pensionable Pay?
How to calculate Pensionable Pay for members of the LGPS pre-2014
How to calculate FTE pay
Example 1
Example 2
Also in this section
Section 16 - Early leaver options (leaving your employment)
Leaving employment - within three months of membership
Transfer out of accrued pension benefits
Leaving employment – after two years’ membership
Other early leavers
Early payment due to Ill-health
Also in this section
Section 17 - Types of member retirement and pension estimates
The leaver’s process
Types of retirement
Redundancy/efficiency retirement
Ill-health retirement
Protections
Flexible retirement
Early voluntary retirement
Normal age and late retirement
Award by the employer of additional pension
Requesting retirement pension estimates
Strain costs
Appendix one – types of retirement available and implications
Appendix two – table of retirement costs
Also in this section
Section 18 - Retirement process for members
Notification
Pensionable Pay calculations
Monthly pension payments
Cost of living increases (pension increase)
What are the timescales?
Also in this section
Section 19 - Guidance for ill-health retirement
What is ill-health retirement?
Immediate ill-health retirement
The role of the employer
The role of the IRMP
The decision
Who to tell about the decision
Benefits payable
Tier 3 ill-health benefits
Protections
Tax implications for the member
The right of appeal ‐ Internal Dispute Resolution Procedure (IDRP)
Cost to the employer
Ill-health retirement for deferred members
Ill-health retirements – a simple flowchart
Also in this section
Section 20 - Death in service of a member
Also in this section
Section 21 - Pensions and divorce or dissolution of a civil partnership
Also in this section
Section 22 - Guidance for dealing with appeals
The Pensions Act 1995
The Local Government Pension Scheme Regulations 2013
First instance decisions
Statement of policy on the exercise of discretions
Notification of first instance decisions
The informal process – avoiding appeals
The formal internal appeal process
Stage 1 appeals
Stage 2 appeals
The external appeal
Further points on appeals
Considerations of medical appeals
Exercise of discretionary powers
A simple flowchart of the IDRP process
Also in this section
Section 23 - Members buying lost LGPS pension
Section 23 - Members buying lost LGPS pension
What it means
APC for unpaid trade dispute (strike action)
Shared cost APC (SCAPC)
Calculation
Regular contributions
Lump sum contributions
APC payments during absences
If the member is aware they will not be returning to work, but wants to elect to start an APC for ‘lost’ pension
Leaving employment before the APC is complete
Also in this section
Section 24 - Assumed Pensionable Pay (APP)
What is Assume Pensionable Pay (APP)?
When to apply APP
When not to apply APP
APP and separate employments
Reserve forces service leave
Cessation of APP accrual
Tier 1 and Tier 2 ill-health pensions or death in service
Example of how to manually calculate APP
Also in this section
Section 25 - First instances decisions to be made by employers
Decision making in the Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS)
Notification of first instance decisions
Internal Dispute Resolution Procedure (IDRP)
Policies of the Scheme employer
Also in this section
Section 26 - Pension Administration Strategy (PAS)
Aims and objectives
Implementation
Regulatory basis
Administration in the London Borough of Southwark Pension Fund
Training and engagement
Performance standards
Timeliness
Fund responsibilities
Administering authority Fund administration
Scheme administrator responsibilities and standards
Service standards
Scheme employer responsibilities and standards
Employer responsibilities
Scheme administration - forms
Monitoring performance and compliance
Role of The Pensions Regulator (TPR)
Employer contribution rates/additional employer assistance and associated costs
Service and communication improvement planning
Consultation and review process
Local Government Pension Scheme Regulations 2013
Also in this section
Training courses
Finance and Investment
Property and Infra Data
Governance
Local Pension Board
Meeting papers
LPB 2 April 2025
LPB 9 October 2024
LPB 3 July 2024
LPB 3 April 2024
LPB 24 January 2024
LPB 11 October 2023
LPB 10 July 2023
LPB 5 April 2023
LBP January 2023
LBP October 2022
LBP July 2022
LPB meeting papers – 6 April 2022
LBP Meeting Papers – 19 January 2022 (pack 1)
LBP Meeting Papers – 19 January 2022 (pack 2)
LPB meeting papers – 20 October 2021
Agenda - 20 January 2021
Minutes - 20 January 2021
Minutes - 7 October 2020
Agenda - 7 October 2020
Minutes - 26 February 2020
Agenda - 26 February 2020
Minutes - 9 October 2019
Pensions Advisory Panel
PAP Papers
26 February 2024 PAP Agenda
26 February 2024 PAP Agenda Supplement
13 June 2024 PAP Agenda
30 September 2024 PAP Agenda
9 December 2024 PAP Agenda
19 March 2025 PAP Agenda
Governance Documents
Strategies & Reports
Investment Strategy Statement
Actuarial Valuation Report
Investment Strategy
Policies
Responsible Investment Policy
Equality, Diversity & Inclusion Policy
Southwark Communications Strategy 2021
Southwark Administration Strategy 2021
Southwark Scheme Pays Policy – March 2018
Southwark Scheme Pays Election Notice
Lifetime Allowance tax breach
Conflicts of interest
Employer guide
Fund development
Content TBC
Contact Us
Keeping in touch