This page provides information on a variety of subjects of interest to pension scheme members. For anything that is not covered here, visit Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS).
Your state pension age is the earliest age you can receive the basic state pension. To find out your state pension age, visit GOV.UK - Check your State Pension age.
Active
The Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS) is a valuable part of your employment package. It provides you with a secure future income at a low cost, and it’s paid by you and your employer.
With 6.3 million members (as at 31 March 2022), the Local Government Pension Scheme is one of the largest public sector pension schemes in the UK. It is run locally for participating employers through 99 regional pension funds. The LGPS changed on 1 April 2014. It is now a career average scheme. A career average scheme means that benefits you build up are worked out using your pay each scheme year rather than your final salary.
Auto-enrolment
In 2012 the government introduced a new law to make it easier for people to save for their retirement. All employers must enrol their employees into a workplace pension scheme if they are not already in one. Automatic enrolment covers those workers who do not apply to join their employer’s scheme and so lose out on pension benefits.
Although automatic enrolment came into effect on 1 October 2012, individual employers are required to start automatic enrolment on a unique ‘staging date’. This is based on the employer’s size.
Employers are required to automatically enrol employees who are:
- not already in a qualifying workplace pension scheme
- at least 22 years old
- below state pension age
- earning more than £10,000 a year (from April 2016)
- working or ordinarily working in the UK (under their contract)
Automatic enrolment is regulated by the Pensions Regulator.
The Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS)
The council is required to enrol all its employees into the LGPS. Our staging date was 1 March 2013. Enfield Homes was staged in February 2014 and most of our academies were staged in April 2014.
If a member opts out, they will be automatically opted back in 3 years after the staging date. Members can choose to opt out of the pension scheme at any time, but they cannot opt out before they have been brought into the scheme.
Peace of mind
Your family enjoys financial security, with immediate life cover and a pension for your spouse, civil partner or eligible cohabiting partner and eligible children in the event of your death in service. If you become seriously ill and you’ve met the 2-year vesting period, you could receive your pension straight away.
Freedom to choose when to take your pension
Your pension is usually payable from your Normal Pension Age which is linked to your State Pension age. You can choose to retire and take your pension at any time between age 55 and 75. If you choose to take your pension before your normal pension age, it will normally be reduced, as it’s being paid earlier. If you take it later than your normal pension age, it will be increased because it’s being paid later.
Our LGPS guide (PDF, 1175.21 KB) provides more details.
Cost of membership
You will pay between 5.5% and 12.5% of your pensionable pay, plus any non-contractual overtime you receive from the council. The rate you pay depends on which pay band you fall into.
For more information about paying lower contributions, visit LGPS - Paying less.
If you join the 50/50 scheme, you will pay half your normal contribution rate for the period you are in the 50/50 scheme. For more information on the 50/50 scheme, see our more information for pension scheme members page.
| Band | Actual pensionable pay for an employment | Main section contribution rate for that employment | 50/50 section contribution rate for that employment |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | up to £17,600 | 5.50% | 2.75% |
| 2 | £17,601 to £27,600 | 5.80% | 2.90% |
| 3 | £27,601 to £44,900 | 6.50% | 3.25% |
| 4 | £44,901 to £56,800 | 6.80% | 3.40% |
| 5 | £56,801 to £79,700 | 8.50% | 4.25% |
| 6 | £79,701 to £112,900 | 9.90% | 4.95% |
| 7 | £112,901 to £133,100 | 10.50% | 5.25% |
| 8 | £133,101 to £199,700 | 11.40% | 5.70% |
| 9 | £199,701 or more | 12.50% | 6.25% |
Useful information:
- The band ranges will increase every April in line with the cost of living
- The real cost is usually even less because pension contributions attract tax relief
- We pay the balance of the cost of providing your benefits in the LGPS
- Every 3 years there is an independent review to calculate how much the council should contribute to the scheme
- Every April, the council will decide your appropriate rate of contributions per job by matching your actual pensionable pay (including non-contractual overtime), to the appropriate band in the contributions table
- We also pay into the scheme for you
To calculate how much the scheme will cost you based on your current pay, use the LGPS calculator.
The benefits
There are many benefits of joining the LGPS:
- A secure pension at retirement - the benefits you receive when you retire are based on the length of membership in the scheme and your average pay throughout your career. The pension you build up during your employment keeps pace with your pay-rises. After you retire, your pension keeps pace with increases to the cost of living.
- Tax-free cash - you have the option to exchange part of your pension for a lump sum of tax-free cash on your retirement
- Early retirement - you can choose to retire from the age of 55 and receive your benefits immediately, although they may be reduced for early payment. It’s also possible to retire from age 55 and receive your benefits immediately if you are made redundant or you have retired in the interests of business efficiency.
- Flexible retirement - if you reduce your hours or move to a less senior position at or after the age of 55, you can draw all of the benefits you have built up, provided your employer agrees. This can help ease you into retirement, although your benefits may be reduced for early payment (only applicable if your employer has adopted flexible retirement).
| Basis of pension | Career average revalued earnings (CARE) |
|---|---|
| Accrual rate | 1/49th |
| Revaluation rate | Consumer Price Index (CPI) |
| Pensionable pay | Pay including non-contractual overtime and additional hours |
| Employee contribution rate | 5.5% - 12.5% based on pensionable pay |
| Contribution flexibility | Members can pay 50% contributions for 50% of the pension benefit |
| Normal pension age | Equal to the member’s State Pension Age |
| Lump sum trade off | Trade £1 of pension for £12 lump Sum |
| Death in service lump sum | 3x pensionable pay |
| Death in service survivor | 1/160th accrual based on Tier 1 ill health pension enhancement |
Annual benefit statements
Each year, before 31 August, you will receive an annual benefit statement for each post that you hold within the pension fund. It is therefore important to ensure that we hold your current address. This statement will highlight how much you have built up in the pension scheme up to 31 March of that financial year, and how much you will receive at your normal retirement age.
If you are thinking of retiring (within the next financial year), contact us for an estimate, which will be calculated specifically to the date you request, this is because, the annual benefit statement is calculated un-reduced, however, if you are planning to retire before this date, % reductions may apply.
You can use lump sum calculator below to provide you with an estimate of how much lump sum you can take, up to the maximum, and how this affects your yearly pension. Please note, the calculator does not take into account in-house AVCs.
If your retirement is a number of years away, you may wish to use the retirement estimate modeller on your Member Self-Service (MSS) tool.
Transfers in
You have 12 months from joining the LGPS to opt to transfer pension rights. This does not mean it needs to be completed within 12 months of joining but you must have started the process.
You can:
- transfer previous LGPS pensions
- transfer from another pension scheme
- transfer from your personal or stakeholder pension*
- transfer AVCs
*If your previous service is with a personal pension or private sector pension including NEST, you will need to approach your former pension scheme and request both a transfer estimate and transfer discharge forms. These can be forwarded to zpensions@enfield.gov.uk and we will calculate how much they would buy in this pension scheme.
If your previous service was in the public sector (not Local Government), and you have not as yet informed us on your starter form, please complete a Transfer in Authorisation form.
You cannot transfer a pension credit into the LGPS. A pension credit is a share of an ex-spouse or ex-civil partner’s pension benefits, as awarded by a court under a Pension Sharing Order following a divorce or dissolution of a civil partnership
For more information, see the LGPS’s guide to transferring pensions.
Divorce
In the event of divorce you may need to request information of your benefits in the LGPS. The Court may request specific information about your LGPS benefits for divorce/dissolution purposes. You should contact us as soon as possible to request a Cash Equivalent Transfer Value (CETV) estimate of your pension rights.
A CETV quotation is normally free, however there may be a cost if you or the court requires it at short notice. View our divorce information sheet (PDF, 162.89 KB) to find out more.
Why become a member of the scheme?
A pension when you retire which increases in line with the cost of living each year. Your pension is a statutory scheme, which means it is secure and guaranteed and is unaffected by investment returns.
Your employer contributes (normally twice as much as you) and there are no additional management fees. You can opt to put your pension into payment from anytime from age 55 to age 75.
On retirement, you can exchange part of your pension for a tax free lump sum at the rate of £1 of pension exchanged for £12 cash up to to a maximum of 25% of all your pension benefits. You can opt to pay less by joining the 50/50 scheme.
You have cover for ill health, which means, you can be eligible for an immediate pension (at any age) if you have over 2 year’s service. You have cover for redundancy, and are eligible for an immediate unreduced pension if you are aged 55 and have over 2 years pensionable service.
If your employer has a flexible retirement policy and agrees, you could retire from age 55, take your pension benefits already built up and continue to work in a reduced role.
If you died in service, even if in the scheme for one day, your next of kin, would be eligible for a death in service lump sum of 3 times your actual salary.
50/50 scheme
LGPS 2014 has an option that allows you to pay half your normal pension contributions at any time. This will build up half your normal pension benefits.
There are 2 sections in the scheme from 1 April 2014 – the main section and the 50/50 section. In the main section you pay normal pension contributions and get the normal pension build up.
You can however choose to move to the 50/50 section. You will then pay half contributions but will only be building up half the normal pension. If you have more than one job, you can choose the 50/50 option in one, some or all your jobs.
To move into the 50/50 section, complete the 50/50 election to join form. For more information, see LGPS contribution flexibility. There are also pensions available for your spouse and dependents, registered civil partner, cohabiting partner, if you die.
Additional Voluntary Contributions
Additional Voluntary Contributions (AVCs) allow you to pay more to build up extra savings for retirement.
If you choose to pay AVCs, they are invested separately in funds managed by the AVC provider Prudential. You have your own personal account that, over time, builds up with your contributions and the returns on your investment, and will be available to you when you retire.
You can choose to pay AVCs if you are in either the main or 50/50 section of the scheme.
From 1 April 2014, if you take out a new AVC contract, your contributions to an AVC arrangement are no longer limited to 50% of your income. This means that you can, if you wish, pay up to 100% of your income towards an AVC, after allowing for any tax, National Insurance liability or any other existing deductions you may have.
For AVC contracts from 1 April 2014, you can take up to 25% of your AVC fund as a tax-free cash lump sum (subject to HM Revenue and Customs limits).
Any AVCs are taken from your pay and, if you pay tax, you receive tax relief automatically through the payroll. Deductions start from the next available pay after your choice has been accepted. You may vary or cease AVC payments at any time while you are paying into the LGPS.
When you retire, you can use your AVCs to buy an annuity, buy a top-up LGPS pension or take up to 25% of your AVC fund as a tax-free cash lump sum.
Rejoining and opting out of the scheme
If you were a member of the LGPS and opted out, but remained in employment and now wish to opt back in, you should complete the LGPS membership form and send it to the team.
If you opted out of the scheme and became entitled to a deferred benefit, you are not permitted to join this period of membership with a new period of membership. You will have 2 separate pension benefits in the scheme. If you opt out then opt back in at a later date and you are in the same job, you cannot transfer in your previously-held pension rights.
If you terminate employment and later begin working for an employer who provides membership of the LGPS, you may wish to join again. If you are eligible for membership of the LGPS you will automatically become a member, unless you have a contract of less than 3 months, in which case you would have to opt to join. You should complete LGPS membership form and send it to the team if you wish to opt in to the scheme.
If you automatically become a member, you have the right to decide not to join the scheme. You’ll need to complete the opt out form for active members.
If you re-join the LGPS after having left it, your deferred pension rights will usually be combined your new pension account. We will write to you to explain your options.
If you wish to transfer previous pension rights from other pension arrangements into the LGPS, you must do so within 12 months of re-joining the scheme. Contact the team for more information.
Deferred
As you are a member with deferred benefits, this means you have left the London Borough of Enfield Pension Fund but your pension benefits have not yet been put into payment.
You will have been provided with details of the value of your deferred benefits when you left. You will also receive an annual statement of your deferred benefits every summer, so you can see how their value increases every year.
When you retire, you will also receive:
- an annual pension, payable throughout your retirement
- if applicable, a one-off tax-free lump sum, payable on your retirement
- life cover and financial protection for your family
Transfers
You have the option to either leave your ‘deferred pension’ with the London Borough of Enfield Pension Fund until it is due for payment at your retirement date, or you can look into transferring it to a new pension provider.
If you are interested in looking into the possibility of transferring to a new pension provider, you will need to request the new scheme to write to request details of your deferred pension entitlement. They will, in turn, then let you know how much this will purchase in their scheme.
If you are then happy to proceed with a transfer, you and your new pension fund will need to complete our funds discharge forms and if requested, also supply a scanned copy of your birth certificate or passport. View the Freedom and choice leaflet (PDF, 151.82 KB).
Divorce
In the event of divorce, you may need to request information of your benefits in the LGPS. The court may request specific information about your LGPS benefits for divorce/dissolution purposes. You should contact us as soon as possible to request a Cash Equivalent Transfer Value (CETV) estimate of your pension rights.
A CETV quotation is normally free, however there may be a cost if you or the court requires it at short notice. View our divorce information sheet (PDF, 162.89 KB) to find out more.
Pensioners
Your LGPS pension is paid into your bank account every month. The Enfield Council Payroll Service administers the payroll on behalf of the pension fund.
In April each year, you will receive a Payroll and Pension Newsletter which will notify you of the pay dates in the year ahead. The newsletter also contains useful information about any budget changes which may affect the amount of tax deducted from your pension.
Your pension will increase annually in line with the Consumer Prices Index (CPI). Details of the pension increases will also be available in the annual newsletter.
Payslips will not be issued to you every month. They are distributed as below:
- March payslip – at the end of March, you receive a payslip showing the total pension paid and any tax deducted for the whole financial year. These figures will also appear on your P60, which is sent to you by 31 May each year.
- April payslip – along with any tax code changes, your April payslip will also show, where appropriate, any pension increase from 6 April. This would mean that a proportion of your April pension is at the old rate and a proportion at the new rate.
- May payslip – if applicable, this payslip will show the new rate of your pension for a whole month following the pension increase. This will normally be the last payslip you receive until the following March.
We will only issue a monthly payslip if there is a variation to your net monthly pension of at least £1, when compared with your May payslip.
Payroll Team
E-Payslip related issues: lbepayslip@enfield.gov.uk.
Changes to your personal details
It is extremely important that we keep our records up to date so that we can tell you about any changes to the pension scheme. This also helps prevent pension payments from being suspended.
If any of your personal details change, contact the payroll and pensions team. We cannot accept such changes over the phone. We have different email addresses, depending on your surname.
For corporate employees, depending on your surname:
- Surname A to C zpayroll.a.to.c@enfield.gov.uk
- Surname D to H zpayroll.d.to.h@enfield.gov.uk
- Surname I to M zpayroll.i.to.m@enfield.gov.uk
- Surname N to R zpayroll.n.to.r@enfield.gov.uk
- Surname S to Z zpayroll.s.to.z@enfield.gov.uk
The forms you can email are:
- change of address form
- change of bank details form (PDF, 115.19 KB) - you must complete, sign and return the change of bank details form before we can update your bank details
Moving overseas after retirement
We can continue to pay your pension to either a UK bank/building society, or directly overseas via Convera (formerly known as Western Union), if you contact us with your new details.
Tax
Her Majesty’s Revenue & Customs (HMRC) works out how much income tax you should pay and provides us with the tax code to be applied to your pension. You will need to speak directly to HMRC if you have any queries on this. You can contact them on 0300 200 3300. You will need your National Insurance number.
If you have a query with your tax code, you can also speak to HMRC on 0300 200 3300.
The PAYE ref for London Borough of Enfield is 120 /B32.
Divorce
In the event of divorce you may need to request information of your benefits in the LGPS. The court may request specific information about your LGPS benefits for divorce/dissolution purposes. You should contact us as soon as possible to request a Cash Equivalent Transfer Value (CETV) estimate of your pension rights.
A CETV quotation is normally free, however there may be a cost if you or the court requires it at short notice. View our divorce information sheet (PDF, 162.89 KB) to find out more.
Other useful contacts
- For any queries relating to pension increases or GMP rates, contact the pensions team
- For information relating to your State Pension, contact The Pension Service on 0345 60 60 265
- For information on your Teachers Pension, contact Teachers Pensions on 0845 60 66 166
- For information relating to tax, contact HM Revenue and Customs on 0300 200 3300
HM Revenue & Customs enquiries you may be asked to quote the council’s PAYE reference number. This is 120/B32.
2014 scheme changes
On 1 April 2014, the LGPS in England and Wales became a ‘career-average’ scheme. You can find out more about career-average schemes on GOV.UK.
All pensions currently being paid or built up before April 2014 are protected. If you are currently in receipt of a pension or have deferred your pension, the changes in the scheme do not affect you.
If you were in the scheme before the changes, your pre-April 2014 pension will still be based on final salary when you leave and the current Normal Pension Age.
| 2008 | 2014 | |
|---|---|---|
| Basis of pension | Final salary scheme | Career average revalued earnings (CARE) (1 April 2014) |
| Accrual rate | 1/60th | 1/49th |
| Revaluation rate | Based on final salary | Consumer Price Index (CPI) |
| Pensionable pay | Pay excluding non-contractual overtime and additional hours | Pay including non-contractual overtime and additional hours |
| Employee contribution rate | Between 5.5% - 7.5% of pensionable pay | Between 5.5% - 12.5% of pensionable pay |
| Contribution flexibility | None | Members can pay 50% contributions for 50% of the pension benefit |
| Normal pension age | 65 | Equal to the member’s State Pension age |
| Lump sum trade off | Trade £1 of pension for £12 lump sum | Trade £1 of pension for £12 lump sum |
| Death in service lump sum | 3 x pensionable pay | 3 x pensionable pay |
| Death in service survivor | 1/160th accrual based on Tier1 ill health pension enhancement | 1/160th accrual based on Tier1 ill health pension enhancement |
For more information, see our LGPS guide PDF, 1175.21 KB. It may also be helpful to have your National Insurance number when you call.
Death grant beneficiary
If you are a member of the pension fund, it is advisable to nominate beneficiaries of any death grant payable in the event of your death. For more information on death benefits, refer to page 74 of the LGPS guide or contact the team.
To nominate a beneficiary, fill in the expression of wish for the payment of death grant form.
Retirement
You can retire and draw your benefits anytime between the ages of 55 and 75. In cases of ill health, there is no lower age limit at all.
Visit LGPS for more information about when you can retire. It includes information about:
- scheme retirement date
- early retirement at your request
- early retirement through redundancy or inefficiency
- ill health retirement
- late retirement
Our retirement leaflet (PDF, 326.48 KB) contains more information.
Flexible retirement
Rather than continuing in your job to normal pension age or beyond, you may wish to consider flexible retirement. From age 55, if you reduce your hours or move to a less senior position, you can draw some or all of the pension benefits you have built up – helping you ease into retirement. You will need the agreement of your employer to do this.
If you choose this option, you can continue paying into the LGPS. You will continue to accrue benefits from the scheme. For more information, see our flexible retirement policy (PDF, 336.67 KB).
If your employer agrees to flexible retirement, all benefits accrued up to the date you take flexible retirement will be released.
If you take flexible retirement before normal pension age, your benefits will be reduced to take account of being paid for longer. The amount your benefits are reduced by will depend on how early you draw your benefits. The following table goes into more detail:
| No. of years paid early | Pensions reduction men | Pensions reduction women | Lump sum reduction |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0 | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| 1 | 6% | 5% | 3% |
| 2 | 11% | 11% | 6% |
| 3 | 16% | 15% | 8% |
| 4 | 20% | 20% | 11% |
| 5 | 25% | 24% | 14% |
| 6 | 29% | 27% | 16% |
| 7 | 32% | 31% | 19% |
| 8 | 36% | 34% | 21% |
| 9 | 39% | 37% | 23% |
| 10 | 42% | 40% | 26% |
If you were a member of the LGPS on 30 September 2006 and you're a protected member, some or all of your benefits paid early may not be reduced.
Payslips
When you retire, you will receive a payslip for your first month’s pension. You will then receive a payslip for March, April and May in each financial year. This is because these months represent the most changes. The payroll section will additionally, send you a payslip if your pension changes by more than £5.
Tax
Her Majesty’s Revenue & Customs (HMRC) works out how much income tax you should pay and provides us with the tax code to be applied to your pension. You will need to speak directly to HMRC if you have any queries on this. You can contact them on 0300 200 3300. You will need your National Insurance number.
Change of details
We cannot accept change of address and change of bank details over the phone.
- change of address form
- change of bank details form (PDF, 115.19 KB) - you must complete, sign and return the change of bank details form before we can update your bank details
Rule of 85
View or download The rule of 85 factsheet (PDF, 141.31 KB).