Multiple separate LGPS pensions

water4444

hyubh said:

water4444 said:

I remember now the £6000 is "the total value of your scheme benefits in 2018".

For Lifetime Allowance purposes maybe...?

I have already been advised one of the pensions, the shortest (3) I was not in the scheme long enough and I should get a refund. It appears I had just under three months membership not as long as I thought. As such I have requested a refund.

Would be better to argue it should be auto-aggregated with (4). A refund of your own contributions will be well short of the CETV for the same period, even if we are only talking about 3 months.

I have not received any statements since leaving, or I have lost them.

Ask for copies, and get your current address recorded.

When I log into the council with my two pensions, only the newest one is listed, indeed they appeared to lose my first larger pension for a few months when I contacted them, so I contacted them again and then they found it!

I shall not pry...

It says on the main one "The total value of your deferred scheme benefits as of 2017 was £18,000, This is equal to 1.80% of the standard lifetime allowance." "This figure is based on you taking the default-level one-off tax-free lump sum, if applicable".

I understand it is not possible to transfer a pension if you have paid in less than three months. They have told me this.

I will be getting the value soon hopefully. At which point I will receive paperwork to sign etc.

I have found the LGPS departments within councils to be very hit and miss, sometimes they don't reply and just seem to ignore you. Other-times they reply very quickly and get what you need.

ffacoffipawb

water4444 said

hyubh said:

water4444 said:

The statement says "The following benefits are based on the pension record as of ***" This is where the £500 (per annum) is. These are rough figures.

Then it says with conversion, I could take a lump sum of £2050 with a residual pension of £300 per annum.

Then it gives a projection that what I would be paid per year at 65 if I had continued to pay into the pension, and that is the higher figure. (£13,500) per annum.

OK. Where did the '£6000 and £18000' come from...?

That said, the 'projection' implies you are quoting from an annual benefit statement (ABS) from when you were still an active member. What do your latest deferred ABSs say...? Or failing that, your deferred benefit statements on leaving...? (Pretty uniquely amongst DB schemes, LGPS administrators have to produce deferred ABSs, though essentially this is about applying CPI to the previous year's total, and nowadays receipt might be via an internet portal unless you opt out.)

I remember now the £6000 is "the total value of your scheme benefits in 2018". This is LGPS pension 4. The £18,000 is the value of the first LGPS pension (1) I had, I held another LGPS for about a year (LGPS 2) so I assume this would be worth about £6000 too. Which would be around 30k. But in separate pensions, so I am not sure if the financial advice rule applies in a transfer.

I have requested the transfer out value for each pension. Once I have those I will be in a better position to decide. I did not expect them to be "worth" this much. I have already been advised one of the pensions, the shortest (3) I was not in the scheme long enough and I should get a refund. It appears I had just under three months membership not as long as I thought. As such I have requested a refund. So only three pensions left to tackle!

I have not received any statements since leaving, or I have lost them. I am going by statements I received when I was an active member. When I log into the council with my two pensions, only the newest one is listed, indeed they appeared to lose my first larger pension for a few months when I contacted them, so I contacted them again and then they found it!

My wife spent 3 months at a local council part time and was enrolled into their defined benefit scheme.

When she left, she was offered a refund of £70 less tax.

We managed to get a CETV of £480 (deferred pension was not available). That was transferred into a personal pension which she can access this yea at 55.

hyubh

water4444 said:

It says on the main one "The total value of your deferred scheme benefits as of 2017 was £18,000, This is equal to 1.80% of the standard lifetime allowance." "This figure is based on you taking the default-level one-off tax-free lump sum, if applicable".

So, the lifetime allowance figure indeed.

I understand it is not possible to transfer a pension if you have paid in less than three months.

Not on its own, indeed. You would need it auto-aggregated with pension (4) first, then transfer the combined service out. (Not saying the administrator would necessarily do that, but some would - things are ambiguous in practice with all the multiple records and leavers not being processed five minutes after you've left.)

Silvertabby

hyubh said:

water4444 said:

It says on the main one "The total value of your deferred scheme benefits as of 2017 was £18,000, This is equal to 1.80% of the standard lifetime allowance." "This figure is based on you taking the default-level one-off tax-free lump sum, if applicable".

So, the lifetime allowance figure indeed.

I understand it is not possible to transfer a pension if you have paid in less than three months.

Not on its own, indeed. You would need it auto-aggregated with pension (4) first, then transfer the combined service out. (Not saying the administrator would necessarily do that, but some would - things are ambiguous in practice with all the multiple records and leavers not being processed five minutes after you've left.)

Unless there's a new rule regarding less than 3 months service records, it's not possible to take a partial refund of LGPS benefits.  Aggregation may not be possible as OP has left the LGPS - but simply applying the service details from posts 1 and/or 2 to post 3 as unaggregated service will work.  Makes no difference to actual benefits accrued, but solves the minimum vesting period problem.

hyubh

Silvertabby said:

Unless there's a new rule regarding less than 3 months service records, it's not possible to take a partial refund of LGPS benefits. 

Well, no, but that wasn't what I was implying. It appears the OP has been in the middle of more than one unprocessed leaver backlog. As there is a record following the sub-3 monther, then arguably the former should be treated as an unclaimed deferred refund and auto-aggregated to the later service. 

water4444

hyubh said:

water4444 said:

It says on the main one "The total value of your deferred scheme benefits as of 2017 was £18,000, This is equal to 1.80% of the standard lifetime allowance." "This figure is based on you taking the default-level one-off tax-free lump sum, if applicable".

So, the lifetime allowance figure indeed.

I understand it is not possible to transfer a pension if you have paid in less than three months.

Not on its own, indeed. You would need it auto-aggregated with pension (4) first, then transfer the combined service out. (Not saying the administrator would necessarily do that, but some would - things are ambiguous in practice with all the multiple records and leavers not being processed five minutes after you've left.)

It appears this will now happen, I have been advised I was actually in the smallest pension (3) over five months as I originally thought. First they said I was only in it three months??? So they now are going to transfer pension 3 to pension 4. I have also asked if this needs to happen with pension 2 and await a reply.  My faith in the LGPS system continues to hold......

Would it matter if I am doing multiple transfer outs or just one? anything to be lost?