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Page | 1 Pension News Autumn 2019 An update for active members of the Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS) In this issue you can find out about: Page 2 - What is Orbis? Page 3 - Contribution Rates for April 2019-20 Page 4 - The 50:50 Scheme Page 4 - How will Brexit affect my pension? Page 5 - Your Annual Benefit Statement & ‘My Pension’ portal Page 6 - What can I do on ‘My pension’ Portal Page 7 - Going Digital Page 8 - The Career Average Scheme (CARE) turns Five! Page 9 - Tax and your pension – The Annual Allowance Page 10 - ScamSmart Page 10 - Equitable Life update Page 11 - Changes to the Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS)
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Page 1: Orbis LGPS Newsletter Autumn 19 draft v2...Orbis is a public sector partnership between the three councils of Brighton & Hove, East Sussex and Surrey. The partnership consists of around

Page | 1

Pension News

Autumn 2019

An update for active members of the Local Government Pension Scheme

(LGPS)

In this issue you can find out about:

Page 2 - What is Orbis?

Page 3 - Contribution Rates for April 2019-20

Page 4 - The 50:50 Scheme

Page 4 - How will Brexit affect my pension?

Page 5 - Your Annual Benefit Statement & ‘My Pension’ portal

Page 6 - What can I do on ‘My pension’ Portal

Page 7 - Going Digital

Page 8 - The Career Average Scheme (CARE) turns Five!

Page 9 - Tax and your pension – The Annual Allowance

Page 10 - ScamSmart

Page 10 - Equitable Life update

Page 11 - Changes to the Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS)

Page 2: Orbis LGPS Newsletter Autumn 19 draft v2...Orbis is a public sector partnership between the three councils of Brighton & Hove, East Sussex and Surrey. The partnership consists of around

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Why was Orbis created? What's its purpose?

• To drive efficiencies through increased

standardisation and removal of

duplication.

• To pool resources, expertise and

knowledge to identify best practice

approaches that best meet the need of

our customers.

• To create greater operational resilience.

• To deliver greater value for money,

placing customers at the heart of

everything that we do.

• To improve accessibility of services to

the customer through a self-sufficiency

approach.

You can find more information regarding Orbis

on the website below:

orbispartnership.co.uk

What Is Orbis?

Orbis is a public sector partnership between the three councils of Brighton

& Hove, East Sussex and Surrey. The partnership consists of around 2000

staff working collaboratively across the three partners. It was formally

created between East Sussex County Council and Surrey County Council in

April 2015, with Brighton & Hove City Council joining as the final founding

partner in May 2017.

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Actual yearly pay You pay

From To Main section 50/50 section

Up to £14,400 5.50% 2.75%

£14,401 £22,500 5.80% 2.90%

£22,501 £36,500 6.50% 3.25%

£36,501 £46,200 6.80% 3.40%

£46,201 £64,600 8.50% 4.25%

£64,601 £91,500 9.90% 4.95%

£91,501 £107,700 10.50% 5.25%

£107,701 £161,500 11.40% 5.70%

More than £161,501 12.50% 6.25%

Contributions Rates from 1 April 2019

As a member of the LGPS, the contribution rate

that you pay depends on your annual

pensionable salary.

Your contribution rate must be reviewed each

April, but your employer’s policy may be to

review your contribution rate more frequently.

If you have a query concerning the contribution

rate that has been applied, please raise this

with your employer.

The pay bands and the contribution rates that

apply from April 2019 are shown below:

2019-20 Contribution Table

Page 4: Orbis LGPS Newsletter Autumn 19 draft v2...Orbis is a public sector partnership between the three councils of Brighton & Hove, East Sussex and Surrey. The partnership consists of around

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50%50%

The 50:50 Section

The 50:50 section of the LGPS gives you the

ability to pay half of your normal

contributions, whilst you accrue half of your

normal pension.

The flexibility may be useful during times of

financial hardship as it allows you to remain

in the scheme, building up valuable pension

benefits, as an alternative to opting out of

the scheme.

Whilst you are in the 50:50 section, your ill

health and life cover top-up would be

calculated as if you were in the main

section of the Scheme.

How will Brexit affect my pensions?

The Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS)

is very secure, because the benefits you receive

are set out in law.

There will be no impact to the pension that you

are entitled to receive on retirement, if or when

the UK leaves the EU.

If there is any information that members need

to be aware of, regarding any future impact of

Brexit on the pensions industry, we will provide

this on our website and in newsletters.

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Your Annual Benefit Statement

All members who were paying into the

LGPS on 31 March 2019 will receive an

Annual Benefit Statement.

The statement shows you the value of

your pension to 31 March 2019 and an

estimate of the value of your pension to

your Normal Retirement Date.

You can view your 2019 Annual Benefit

Statement on ‘My Pension’ online.

Logon to ‘My Pension’ at:

mypension.surreycc.gov.uk and click on

Annual Benefit Statement from your

dashboard.

Guidance notes and a link to the guidance

video can be found under the Annual

Benefit Statement menu on the

dashboard.

How do I register for My Pension?

If you have not already registered for the portal,

it is free of charge and easy to do, by following

the steps below:

1. Go to mypension.surreycc.gov.uk

2. If you haven’t got a username or

password please click on ‘Request One.’

3. You will receive an email within 24 hours

to complete your registration.

If you are having any difficulty registering or have

other questions about ‘My Pension’, please call

our helpline on 0300 200 1034.

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Estimate your projected future retirement

benefits - using the Pension Benefits > Benefit

Projectors menu option. You can calculate an

estimate for future retirement dates.

The Benefit Projector is easy to use but there is a

full guide published in the Documents > Scheme

Documents section.

If you want to opt out of receiving communication

electronically, then please write to us at the

address shown on page 12.

Your signed letter must include your full name,

national insurance number, your current employer

and your date of birth.

Check or update your Expression of Wish

details – for the distribution of any LGPS

death grant that becomes payable.

If you wish to view or update these

details select the Nominations section

from the dashboard. Any changes you

make will be updated immediately.

What else can I use ‘My Pension’ for?

Page 7: Orbis LGPS Newsletter Autumn 19 draft v2...Orbis is a public sector partnership between the three councils of Brighton & Hove, East Sussex and Surrey. The partnership consists of around

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Going Digital

We are letting you know that we are aiming to go

paperless in the future, to help the environment and

to keep our costs to a minimum.

Going forwards, we will be contacting members by

email, via the website and through the ‘My Pension’

portal.

What do I need to do?

If you are already registered with the ‘My Pension’

portal, then we already hold the details we need to

enable us to contact you in the future.

If you are not registered, then please refer to page 5

which shows you how to register for the ‘My

Pension’ portal.

Once you have logged onto the portal, you can check

that we hold the correct contact details for you.

Can I still receive paper copies?

If you don’t want to use these electronic

methods, or don’t have online access, you

can continue to receive paper

communications.

Please contact us in writing if you would

like to receive correspondence about your

pension by post.

Your signed letter must include your full

name, national insurance number, your

current employer and your date of birth.

Page 8: Orbis LGPS Newsletter Autumn 19 draft v2...Orbis is a public sector partnership between the three councils of Brighton & Hove, East Sussex and Surrey. The partnership consists of around

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The CARE Scheme Turns Five!

The Career Average (CARE) Scheme has

now been in operation for five years.

Here is a reminder of how the CARE

Scheme works:

• The scheme year runs from 1 April

to 31 March.

• The benefits you build up are

based upon your pensionable pay

for each scheme year.

Remember:

The CARE scheme also provides benefits for

your partner and dependents in the event of

your death.

• If you are in the main scheme, 1/49th of your pensionable pay goes into your pension.

• If you are in the 50:50 scheme, 1/98th of your pensionable pay goes into your pension.

• On 1 April each year, your whole CARE pension is revalued in line with the Consumer Price

Index (CPI.) For 1 April 2019, the CPI increase was 2.4%.

For more information on how your pension is calculated, please visit:

lgpsmember.org/arm/already-member-how.php

Page 9: Orbis LGPS Newsletter Autumn 19 draft v2...Orbis is a public sector partnership between the three councils of Brighton & Hove, East Sussex and Surrey. The partnership consists of around

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Tax and your Pension – The Annual

Allowance

The Annual Allowance (AA) is a limit on the

increase in the value of the pension benefits

you can build up in a year before you

become subject to a tax charge.

A ‘carry forward’ rule means that if you

exceed the AA in a year then you may not

have to pay a tax charge, providing you have

sufficient unused allowances from the

previous 3 years.

The Annual Allowance for 2018/19 was

£40,000 for most people, and will remain the

same in 2019/20.

The AA from 2016/17 year onwards is

reduced on a tapered basis for high earners.

You will be affected by the tapered AA if:

• Your annual income (excluding

pension contributions) is over

£110,000.

• Your annual ‘adjusted income’

(broadly, your taxable income plus

pensions savings built up over the tax

year) is over £150,000.

The increase in your pension savings may

be assessed against a lower Annual

Allowance if you have flexibly accessed

any benefits in a money purchase

arrangement after 5 April 2015.

If you have exceeded the Annual

Allowance in 2018/19, the Pension

Services would have contacted you

before 6 October 2019 to let you know.

If you have not received a notification,

and believe that you have exceeded the

Annual Allowance, then please contact us

using the contact details on page 12.

Further information about the Annual

Allowance can be found on the Pension

Fund website.

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Equitable Life

A few members of the LGPS have Additional

Voluntary Contributions held with Equitable

Life.

Equitable Life have announced that they have

entered into an agreement to transfer the

Society and all its policies to Utmost Life and

Pensions (formerly known as Reliance Life).

The proposal can be found on Equitable Life’s

website at: equitable.co.uk

The pension fund will vote on their members’

behalf and the results will be communicated

as soon as they are known.

Don’t let scammers enjoy your pension – be ‘Scamsmart’

Scammers try to persuade pension savers to transfer their

entire pension savings, by making attractive-sounding

promises they have no intention of keeping.

Despite the cold-calling ban, scammers often contact

people via phone, email or text, or advertise online with

websites that look official or government-backed.

Scam tactics include:

• Contact out of the blue

• Promises of high or guaranteed results

• Free pension reviews

• Access to your pension before age 55

• Pressure to act quickly

Don’t be deceived into losing your pension benefits. If you

are considering transferring your pension benefits, then

make sure you take independent financial advice before

making any decisions.

Be ‘Scamsmart’ - for further information, please refer

to the Financial Conduct Authority website at:

fca.org.uk/scamsmart

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Changes in the LGPS Regulations

From time to time, the LGPS regulations are amended, or the factors we use to calculate your

pension are changed. The changes are briefly described below:

Revised Early Retirement Factors

If you voluntarily decide to take your benefits before your Normal Retirement Date, then your

pension will normally be reduced to reflect this early payment.

The reductions percentages are calculated by the Government Actuary’s Department (GAD). From 8

January 2019, GAD revised the reduction percentages and the new factors are now the same for

men and women.

Please refer to lgpsmember.org for further details.

Revised Late Retirement Factors

If you decide to take your pension after your Normal Retirement Date, then your Pension benefits

will be increased to reflect this late payment.

GAD have changed the way the increase is calculated and the new late retirement factors apply

from the 1 September 2019.

For further details go to lgpsmember.org

Additional Survivor Benefit Contributions

If you are purchasing Additional Survivor Benefits, and still have contributions outstanding, the

contributions that you pay are changing from 1 April 2020.

If this affects you, we will contact you prior to 1 April 2020 to let you know what the new

contributions will be.

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Contact Information

View your pension online:

mypension.surreycc.gov.uk

Problem accessing the portal:

Phone - 0300 200 1034

Have a question about your pension:

Phone - 0300 200 1031

Email Us:

[email protected]

Write to Us:

Orbis Pension Services,

Room 218 County Hall

Penrhyn Road

Kingston

Surrey

KT1 2DN

Useful Links

Pension Fund website

surreypensionfund.org

National LGPS members’ website

lgpsmember.org

The Pension Advisory Service

pensionadvisoryservice.org.uk

The Pensions Regulator

thepensionsregulator.gov.uk

Money Advice Service

moneyadviceservice.org.uk

State Pension Forecast

yourpension.gov.uk

Help Finding an Independent Financial Advisor

unbiased.co.uk


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