LGPS best of last 3 years query

My_perfect_cousin

I'd value thoughts on the following LGPS best year of last 3 pension query please.

1st September 2019 temporary promotion. No increase in pay received until November pay 2019.

If the period is to become the best 12 months in the last 3 years, would the 12 month period be likely to be:

a) from the date of the temporary promotion (ie from 01.09.19) despite no take home increase or

b) from the date of increased take home pay (ie from 01.11.19)?

Payroll suggest that it is from 01.09.19 and not 01.11.19.  I'm assuming that payroll would give pensions the 'what it should have been' pay from 01.09.19 rather than the actual pay.

The answer is important because there was a pay rise in 31.08.22 which would be included in 'b' but obviously not in 'a'. So 'b' would generate a better pension by my calculations.

It's also key to the decision to either defer / freeze / leave the pension scheme by 31.08.22 or 31.10.22. 

I'd value any thoughts

thanks in advance

My_perfect_cousin

edit - apologies. Pay rise was on 01.09.20 and not 31.08.22.

Exotoxin1

The three years count back as each 12-month period ending on retirement/deferral date.  So if you want Sept etc included you must go at end of August.

My_perfect_cousin

thanks. Yes. My query is more about whether my best of three year of pay will start from when my pay actually increased or from when I started the role and it should have increased.

Nebulous2

I'm no pension expert - but what actually happened paywise? 

1. You took on additional responsibilities from 1/9/19 but received no pay for it until 1/11/19 which was paid at end of Nov. 
2. You took on additional responsibilities from 1/9/19 and payroll processing didn't kick in until November, when you were paid the additional money due from 1/9/19. 

If 2 is the case then your pay increased from 1/9/19 and that would be the date I'd expect them to use. Everything else was about processing the arrears and actually getting the money into your bank account. 

If it was some sort of trial arrangement and additional pay was only agreed from 1/11/19 then you have more of an argument. 

 

Retireinten

I think you probably need silvertabby for this one, but I don't think the LGPS pension scheme is clever enough to know when you should have received pay. So I suspect it will be based on the point you receive the money, which is the point at which you pay the pension contributions on that money. 

As Ana example, I left a job at the end of Feb 2016  (annual salary £41k) and immediately started a new job on 1st March (annual salary £45k), both in the LGPS.  From January 2014 to December to 2014, I was on an external secondment again the in LGPS  (salary £52k), I then returned to my substantive post on 1st January  2015 on £41k per annum. To complicate things further, I didn't get paid for the secondment for four months so received a lump sum (back pay) in April 2014. 


On leaving, my LGPS pension was calculated on the best of the last three years... but I'm fairly sure this was done on financial years, so the best was my salary was from 1st April 2014 to 31st March 2015, which included 9 months of secondment money (as it was paid in April) and 3 months at the lower salary of £41k.

Lemon_dr1zzle

When your pay was increased in November 2019 was it backdated to September? 

hyubh

2008/2009 scheme final pay should be in respect of when it was due not when it was paid. 2014/2015 scheme CARE pay is the opposite.