Subject 1

planning your retirement

JANUARY

2013

A new beginningRetirement has been described as many things, and if you approach it in the right way, you could look upon it as the longest holiday of your life. As you embark on this new time in your life, you are bound to feel mixed emotions - hopefully excitement and anticipation, but maybe a little uncertainty too. At a time like this, the last thing you want is to feel left in the dark about your pension, so we have produced this booklet to help you plan your retirement whilst you are still at work.

Please remember, this is only a guide, and we have deliberately used simple terms wherever possible, and cut out much of the technical detail which appears in the regulations. But it is the actual regulations which will be used in the event of any dispute or disagreement.

Please note: this guide only applies to people retiring April 2008 onwards.

contentsWhat benefits are based on 4Your benefits package 7Normal retirement age 10Retiring before 65 at your own choice 11Retiring early through ill health 15Retiring early through redundancy or efficiency 17Flexible retirement 18Late retirement 19If you have paid extra contributions 20Sorting out the paperwork 26Income tax in retirement 28Your pension & the cost of living 29Lump sum life cover 30Pensions for your dependants 31Keeping in touch 33How to complain 34Outside organisations 35

What benefits are based onThe benefits package consists of an inflation proof pension paid for your lifetime and a one off tax free lump sum either as standard or as an option. We’re a final salary scheme, which means your benefits are based on two main ingredients: final pay and membership. So let’s look at these first...

Final payThe pay we will use to work out your benefits is the same type of pay that you have been paying contributions on, in other words:

l Basic pay l Bonus

l Contractual overtime l Shift allowance

l Standby allowance

So this may not include all your pay, as it will not include things like non contractual overtime or car allowance, and extras like rent free accommodation will only be included if spelled out in your contract.

We actually use your final pay - and normally this means your pay over the last 12 months up to retiring, but we can use one of the two years before that if better. There are also some occasions when we don’t have to use your actual final pay, and these are...

4 What benefits are based on

Pay cuts: When you retire, if you have had a pay cut in your last 10 years, you can ask your employer to use an earlier ‘better’ pay instead. You can choose the average pay from any three consecutive years out of the last 13 years, ending with a 31 March.

Especially after adding inflation proofing too, this can often mean better benefits. Your employer cannot refuse you this option, but they may not offer it unless you ask! By the way, in our newsletters etc, you may have seen this referred to as the looking back in time option.

Sick pay: If you are off sick on reduced or no pay in your last three years, we will work out your benefits on the pay you would have got if you had been working.

MembershipThe other important ingredient for working out your benefits is membership. This is worked out to the day, and includes... l How long you’ve been a memberl Membership transferred from other pension schemesl Membership you have boughtl Membership from transferring in an AVCl Membership you get because of ill healthl Any other membership you are givenLess any breaks in membership, as explained opposite.

Breaks in membership: If you have ever been off work on reduced or no pay, you may have lost some membership, and this in turn will mean your benefits will be less. Breaks can include maternity leave, absence with reduced or no pay, strike breaks, and absence without permission.

Please ask if you need to know more.

Men’s membership reduction: If you have been married during your membership, any membership you have before April 1972 has been reduced by 11% unless you have paid extra.

What benefits are based on 5

Please note: The pay cut protection covered on this page only relates to pay cuts which took place from 1 April 2008 onwards. (Similar but different rules were in place before this).

Joan is about to retire, after working for 25 years as a school cook. She has been part time for the last ten years (working half the hours), but has been full time in the past. Here’s how we will treat her pay and membership...

If you have ever been part time, this can affect both your pay and your membership: Pay: If you are part time when you retire, we will always use the full time pay for your job to work out your benefits.

Membership: Any periods you have worked part time count for less when working out your benefits. And if you have ever changed your hours, each period will count as a different block of membership. When you retire, we will add all the blocks of membership together to get your total membership.

Pay: Joan’s actual part time yearly pay: £6,000

Full time yearly pay for working £12,000 out her benefits:

15 years full time: 15 years

10 years on half the hours: 5 years

Total for working out benefits: 20 years

Pay:

Membership:

Example

6 What benefits are based on

Your benefits package As a member you can look forward to a guaranteed package of benefits to enjoy when you retire. This includes, an income for your lifetime which will go up in line with the cost of living, and a tax free lump sum either as standard or as an option

First we take your membership before 1 April 2008, and use it to work out your benefits as follows:

Pension = Final Pay x Membership ÷ 60

Then we take your membership from 1 April 2008, and use it to work out your benefits, as shown below:

Your benefits package 7

plus

Lump sum = Final Pay x Membership ÷ 80 x 3

Pension = Final Pay x Membership ÷ 80

So, this gives a bigger pension but no automatic lump sum.

Lorretta had already built up 28 years’

membership before April 2008, and by the time she retires in 2014 she will also have 6 years from April 2008. Let’s use her current pay of £20,000 to illustrate her benefits...

Pension = £20,000 x 6 years ÷ 60 =

25% limitBecause the lump sum is tax free, HM Revenue & Customs have set a limit on how big a lump sum you can take. After converting any pension to lump sum we use a standard formula to value your ‘total pension pot’ and the lump sum can be no more than 25% of its value.

We will let you know how this limit affects you as part of the retirement process.

plus

Pension = £20,000 x 28 years ÷ 80 =

Automatic lump sum = Pension x 3 =

Bigger lump sumYou don’t have to take the standard package of benefits we have just looked at. Instead you can choose to give up some pension and turn it into a lump sum instead. If you want to do this, you get an extra £12 of lump sum for every £1 of yearly pension you give up.

Suppose Loretta chooses to give up £1000 of her yearly pension, this will boost her lump sum by £12,000, so in total she will now get:

Example

Smaller pension: £8,000

Bigger Lump sum: £33,000

Of course this is just one example - there are many other combinations...

8 Your benefits package

£7,000

£2,000

£21,000

Benefits before April 2008

Benefits from April 2008

But no automatic lump sum.So in total, Lorretta’s standard package of benefits gives her a pension of £9,000 and a lump sum of £21,000.

The choice is yoursOnly you can decide whether or not to go for the bigger lump sum - it’s a personal decision. But here are some of the things you might want to think about when making up your mind...

TaxIf you will pay tax on your pension, then in real terms it will cost you less than £1 to boost your lump sum by £12. For example if you pay tax at the standard 20%, it will only cost you 80p from your net yearly pension to get an extra £12 of tax free lump sum.

Spend spend spend!For some people, this is a once in a lifetime chance to take the holiday of a lifetime, or some other well deserved treat. You might think it’s well worth exchanging a little pension to help you get that extra money ‘up front’.

What’s your innings?Remember, once you’ve swapped pension for lump sum, that reduction will always be there. If you come from a family with a long life expectancy, and expect to draw your pension for a long time, you may feel it will cost you too much over the long term to boost your lump sum in this way.

No effect on dependants’ pensionsBy choosing the bigger lump sum option, don’t worry that this will affect any dependants’ pensions. Pensions for husbands, wives, civil partners or nominated cohabiting partners are all based on pay and membership.

Your benefits package 9

The Scheme’s normal retirement age is 65. This means that if you retire at 65, there are no early retirement reductions, no matter how little membership you have built up.

Retiring before age 65Of course you don’t have to retire at 65 - there are many ways of retiring at other ages, and these include:

l Retiring early at your own choice

l Retiring early through ill health

l Retiring through redundancy or efficiency

l Flexible retirement

l Late retirement

We have shown each of these different types of retirement in their own sections. Please make sure you understand which one applies to you, as there can be quite a big effect on your benefits. In some cases benefits are enhanced, and in some cases benefits are reduced!

Normal retirement age

To draw your

benefits before 65, you must have at least three months’

membership, or brought in a transfer

from another scheme.

10 Normal retirement age

Retiring early at your own choice 11

Retiring before 65 at your own choiceYou can ask to retire before 65 at the following ages:

l 60 onwards: no permission needed

l 55 to 59: only possible if your employer agrees.

And watch out, in many cases, you will face early retirement reductions. This depends on various factors, such as when you joined the Scheme, and how much membership you have built up.

If you joined before 1 October 2006...... your benefits may be reduced by a percentage if you retire early at your own choice. This depends on whether you pass something called the 85 test, and when you were born, as explained on the next page.

If you joined on or after 1 October 2006...... your benefits will be reduced by a percentage if you retire early at your own choice before age 65. The reductions depend on how long before 65 you draw your benefits, and are shown in the table later in this section.

Remember, passing the 85 test in itself doesn’t allow you to retire before 60! Only your employer can allow this.

The 85 testIf you have long service, the 85 test can help avoid or reduce the reductions which would otherwise apply if you retire early at your own choice.

To do the 85 test, you simply add together your age and the membership you have built up, at the point you retire. If you score 85 or more you pass the 85 test.

When doing the 85 test...

l Ignore part years (in other words round your age or membership down to the nearest whole year)

l Count any part time membership at its full calendar length

If you do pass the 85 test when you retire: this will help reduce or avoid the reductions. How much ‘protection’ you have depends when you were born - see the examples on the next page.

If you don’t pass the 85 test when you retire: in this case you will face the reductions as shown later in this section.

Tip

12 Retiring early at your own choice

Only applies if you joined before 1 October 2006

Only applies if you joined before 1 October 2006

Dave was born in May 1955, and joined the Scheme when he was 35, so he will have built up 25 years by age 60. Suppose he chooses to retire at age 60 (in 2015) he will have passed the 85 test, and because of the date he was born, his benefits won’t be reduced at all.

Example

Born before 1 April 1956As long as you pass the 85 test when you retire, benefits based on membership up to 1 April 2016 will not be reduced at all. But do watch out if you retire after this date.

Pat was born on 1 April 1959, and joined the Scheme at 30. Suppose she chooses to retire at age 60, she will have 30 years’ membership and will pass the 85 test.

The 19 years’ worth of benefits she built up before April 2008 won’t be reduced.

Because of the date she was born, the 11 years’ worth of benefits

she builds up from April 2008 will be reduced on a tapered basis. So her pension based on this later membership will be reduced by 18%. (The full

reduction would have been 24%).

Example

Born between 1 April 1956 & 31 March 1960As long as you pass the 85 test the benefits you built up before 1 April 2008 will not be reduced at all.

And as long as you pass the 85 test before 1 April 2020, benefits based on membership from 1 April 2008 to 1 April 2020 will be reduced on a tapered basis. In other words just part of the reductions shown on the next page will apply.

Born on or after 1 April 1960As long as you pass the 85 test the benefits built up before 1 April 2008 will not be reduced at all. But the benefits you build up from this date will be reduced by the percentages shown on the next page.

Retiring early at your own choice 13

Early retirement reductionsHere are the reductions which normally apply if you retire early at your own choice and you either: l Aren’t fully protected by the 85 test or l You joined on or after 1 October 2006.

Tony joined the Scheme in November 2006, so no matter

how much or how little membership he has built up when he retires, he will face a reduction if he chooses to retire before 65.

For example if he chooses to retire at 60, he is going

5 years early which means his pension will be reduced by 25% and

his lump sum will be reduced by 14%.

Example

14 Retiring early at your own choice

PENSION REDUCTIONS

Men Women

LUMP SUM REDUCTIONS

Men & Women

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%

YEARS EARLY

l If you are facing benefit reductions under these rules, you can choose to leave but draw your benefits closer to 65, with a smaller reduction, or at 65 with no reduction.

l Employers can waive reductions on compassionate grounds, but this is rare.

l If your employer retires you for some other reason such as ill health or redundancy, there are no early retirement reductions. See following sections for more.

i25% 14%

Remember, the reductions shown only apply if you retire early at your own choice. In other words they don’t apply if your employer retires you early, on the grounds of ill health, redundancy, or efficiency. These are covered in the sections which follow.

You can also avoid or reduce the reductions by leaving work and delaying drawing your benefits until a later date.

Retiring early on ill healthRetiring early on Ill healthYou can retire on ill health at any age, as long as...

l You have 3 months’ membership, and

l Your employer ends your employment because you are permanently incapable of doing your own job, and

l You have a reduced likelihood of obtaining any gainful employment before 65.

Your employer will then decide how capable of gainful employment you are, and will class you as a tier 1, tier 2, or tier 3 ill health case.

In all cases, your ill health benefits will be based on the membership you have built up so far, and will be

paid without any early retirement reduction. And if you fall into tiers 1 or 2, you will be given some extra membership too.

l Your employer will consult a specially qualified doctor in assessing your case.

l Gainful employment means paid employment of at least 30 hours a week for at least 12 months.

Being off sick before retiring on ill health will NOT affect the pay or

membership for working out benefits.

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Retiring early on ill health 15

No prospect of carrying out gainful employment in the next 3 years, but good prospect of carrying out gainful employment before 65

Benefits based on the membership you have built up so far, plus 25% (a quarter) of the membership you would have built up by age 65.

Good prospect of carrying out gainful employment in the next 3 yearsBenefits based on the membership you have built up so far, but with

no extra membership. The lump sum is yours to keep, but the pension is a temporary payment and will stop whichever of the following happens first:l You start gainful employment

l It is decided you are fit for gainful employment at an 18 month medical review

l The three years period ends

No prospect of carrying out gainful employment before 65Benefits based on the membership you have built up so far, plus all the

membership you would have built up by age 65.

l If you are part time when you leave, the extra membership will normally be adjusted to reflect your part time hours. But if you only went part time because of your illness, neither the part time membership you built up or the extra membership will be reduced.

l If you retire on ill health under tiers 1 or 2 and were a member before 1 April 2008, and were 45 or over on this date, you will be given the extra membership from the ‘old rules’ if better. But it is still the rules shown in this section which decide whether you are entitled to ill health benefits.

16 Retiring early on ill health

iTier 1

Tier 2

Tier 3

Tier 3

Retiring early through redundancy or efficiencyAs long as you are 55 or over and your employer makes you redundant or retires you in the interests of efficiency, we will pay your pension benefits immediately. If you retire in this way, there are no early retirement reductions.

Sometimes employers offer redundancy/efficiency retirements as part of a voluntary early retirement scheme.

Retiring early through redundancy or efficiency 17

As long as you are 55 or over, your employer can allow you to reduce your hours or move to a lower grade and draw all or part of your pension benefits whilst carrying on working. But watch out, the benefits you draw may be reduced if you are under 65 (unless your employer waives the reduction).

Even if you face a reduction, there may still be a cost to your employer, so you can only flexibly retire if your employer allows you to.

By the way, if you flexibly retire, and stay in the Scheme, you will carry on building up pension benefits in your ‘reduced’ job.

Please remember, flexible retirement is only possible if your employer allows it - in other words it is an employer discretion.

Flexible retirement

18 Flexible retirement

Please note: we have to pay your benefits at 75, even if you work beyond this.

You can stay in the Scheme up to the day before your 75th birthday, if your employer will let you carry on working for them. Naturally your benefits will be bigger because they will be based on more years. And as an added bonus, your benefits will normally be enhanced by a percentage too.

Late retirement

Late retirement 19

20 If you have paid extra contributions

If you have paid extra contributions This section looks at your options if you have paid extra to top up your benefits

If you have paid extra contributions This section looks at your options if you have paid extra to top up your benefits

If you have paid extra to buy some extra membership, we will include this in the membership we use to work out your benefits. So it will count towards:

l Your own inflation proof pension worked out like this:

l Your lump sum*

l Inflation proof pensions for your husband/wife/civil partner/ nominated cohabiting partner and any dependent children

l How soon you pass the 85 test (if it applies to you)

* If you were 45 or over on joining, and elected to buy extra membership before 6 April 2006, the extra membership will buy you a pension worked out like this:

This gives more pension than the normal 80ths calculation, but won’t get you any extra lump.

Pay x membership ÷ 60

If you retire because of ill health, we will treat you as if you have finished paying, so the membership will count in full. If you retire in the interests of efficiency, or you are made redundant, you may be able to pay off what’s left in one go. If you retire for any other reason you cannot pay it off and your benefits will simply take into account what you have paid for.

Buying extra membershipIf you haven’t finished paying:

If you have paid extra contributions 21

Pay x membership ÷ 80

If you have bought back any part time service, we will include this in the membership we use to work out your benefits. So it will count towards: l Your own lump sum & pension worked out as

follows:

l How soon you pass the 85 test (if it applies to you)

l Inflation proof pensions for your husband/wife/civil partner/nominated cohabiting partner and any dependent children

If you retire because of ill health, we will treat you as if you have finished paying, so the membership will count in full. If you retire for any other reason you can pay off what’s left from your lump sum. If you don’t pay it off, your benefits will simply take into account what you have paid.

Part time buy back

Automatic lump sum = Pension x 3

Pension = Pay x membership ÷ 80plus

22 If you have paid extra contributions

If you retire because of ill health we will treat you as if you have finished paying, so you will get the extra pension in full. But if you retire for any other reason, you will get the proportion of the extra pension you have paid for so far, less a reduction if retiring before 65. Sorry, you cannot pay off what’s left.

If you haven’t finished paying:

If you haven’t finished paying:

If you were buying some extra pension, and have finished the payments, we will add this to the normal pension you have built up with us.

Buying extra pension

Any membership you have before April 1972 which you have agreed to pay for by extra contributions will count in full as long as you have finished paying.

If you retire because of ill health we will treat you as if you have finished paying, so the membership will count in full. But if you retire for any other reason you cannot pay off what’s left, and any membership you haven’t paid for will be reduced by 11%.

If you haven’t finished paying:Men avoiding membership reduction

If you were paying by installments and haven’t finished paying, you will have to pay off what’s left, and the membership will count in full. We will automatically take the amount you owe from your retirement lump sum.

If you chose to backdate in this way, you will have been given the option to pay up front, or to pay by installments.

Employment Tribunal part time backdating If you haven’t finished paying:

If you have a nominated cohabiting partner and were paying to count your membership before 6 April 1988, this will count in full towards a pension for them as long as you have finished paying.

If you retire because of ill health we will treat you as if you have finished paying, so the membership will count in full. But if you retire for any other reason, the proportion of the membership you have paid for so far will count towards your partner’s pension, and you cannot pay off what’s left.

Buying partner’s pre ‘88 membership If you haven’t finished paying:

Please see Pensions for Dependants section for more.

If you have paid extra contributions 23

24 Subject

Turning your AVC into membership in the Fund: This is only open to you if you signed up for your Prudential AVCs before 13 November 2001. You can only choose this option anytime from age 50, and before you retire, unless you retire through ill health, in which case you can choose it no matter what your age. If you turn your AVC into membership, it will not count towards your lump sum, but will count towards:

l Your own pension, worked out as follows:

l Pensions for your husband/wife/civil partner/nominated cohabiting partner and any dependent children

l The age you pass the 85 test (if this applies to you)

Please note: if you have already turned your AVC into membership then retire early at your own choice, this may reduce the amount of membership it bought you.

Please note - this information does not cover freestanding AVCs.

AVCsIf you have paid into our Scheme AVC with Prudential, there are various ways of drawing the benefits...

Buying an annuity from an insurance company: This is where an insurance company takes the value of the AVC and pays you a pension in return. This pension is completely separate from your main scheme benefits, and you have some choice over the type of pension, for example whether you want any kind of annual increase, and whether you want dependants’ benefits.

You can buy this type of annuity from Prudential, or another insurance company of your choice. Prudential will automatically provide you with a quote with various options, but this will stand for a limited time only. Remember annuity rates do vary, and can literally change each day.

Buying an annuity from Greater Manchester Pension Fund: This is open to you as long as you retire and draw your benefits straightaway. It differs from other annuities in that it provides a pension which automatically includes inflation proofing and dependants’ benefits. We will automatically provide you with a quote for this. Unlike other annuities, the rates change less often.

24 If you have paid extra contributions

Pension = Pay x membership ÷ 80

Subject 25

Please note - this information does not cover freestanding AVCs.

Let’s look at Loretta again... Suppose she chooses to take her standard benefits package, which we know gives her a pension of £9,000 and a lump sum of

£21,000. Let’s say she also has an in house AVC with Prudential worth £39,000, then the HMRC

will value her ‘total pensions pot’ at £240,000 - see the box on the right for how this is worked out.

HMRC limits allow Loretta to take up to 25% of her ‘total pension pot’ as tax free cash, in other words £60,000. If she takes all of her AVC as cash, along with her Fund lump sum, this comes to exactly the 25% she is allowed.

Example

Drawing some or all of your AVC as a tax free lump sum: This option is open to you if you have paid AVCs, but once again there are HMRC limits. These limits take account of both the value of your AVCs and your main benefits, as illustrated below...

How to value your pensions potSimply take your yearly pension and multiply it by 20, then add in your lump sum and AVCs. So Loretta’s pot is:

£9,000 x 20 =Plus lump sum:Plus AVCs:Total:

If you have paid extra contributions 25

£180,000£21,000£39,000

£240,000

26 Subject

l Your lump sum and pension: this is the standard package of benefits

l Bigger lump sum options: we will tell you the maximum lump sum open to you by giving up some pension - you can choose the standard package, or the maximum lump sum package, or anywhere in between

l AVC options: If you have paid AVCs, we will tell you:

u the value of the scheme annuity available from us (an extra pension)

u how much of your AVCs you can draw as tax free cash (an extra lump sum)

Sorting out the paperworkBefore we can begin working out and paying your benefits, we need some information from you, as this section explains...

Once your employer finds out you are retiring, they will let us know by sending us a form, and this will trigger various processes. First we will write to you, explaining your benefits and the options open to you. The letter will give you information about:

Please note: Prudential will write to you separately about annuity options with them.

26 Sorting out the paperwork

Subject 27

Please watch out for this form!When we write to you, we will also send you a retirement form (PF71m) to fill in - please help us by doing this as soon as possible.

The retirement form asks for various details including:

l Bank details: This is the account we will pay your pension & lump sum into

l HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) rules: There are strict rules about drawing pension benefits, so we need to ask you about:

u the value of other pensions

u whether you have ever had a serious ill health lump sum or had a transfer out to an overseas pension scheme

u whether you plan to recycle the lump sum from us

l Part time buy back: If you were paying part time buy back scheme contributions, but haven't finished all the payments, you can either pay what's left or simply get what you’ve paid for so far.

l Bigger lump sum option: This is where you tell us how big a lump sum you want, and how you want to draw any AVCs you have paid

Sorting out the paperwork 27

Please send us your completed retirement form & Birth Certificate as soon as possible, as we cannot pay your benefits without them!

Income tax in retirementNo matter how old you are or how long you have paid tax for, if your income is high enough, you will still have to pay tax when you retire.Income can include...l State pension and other pensionsl Unemployment benefitl Wages from other jobs

l Interest on some savings

This is the way the tax office tell us to deal with your pension when you first retire...

Under State pension age: If you won’t have reached State pension age by 5 April, we will use the same tax code you had at work and as soon as we receive your P45 (see below), we will use the pay and tax figures on that too.

From State pension age: If you will have reached State pension age by 5 April, we will use a different tax code to the one you had at work. We will use tax code BR, which means every pound of your pension will be taxed. This is to try to stop you paying too little tax, because it is likely that the code eventually issued by the tax office will probably be much lower than the

one used whilst you were working. One reason for this is that the code is adjusted to take into account the amount of State pension you draw.

The tax office may take some time to sort out what tax you should pay but as soon as they do, they will write and tell you. They will also send the same details to us, so if you have paid too much or too little tax, we can normally put this right through your pension. But if it isn’t sorted out by the end of the tax year, you will have to deal with the ‘taxman’ directly (HMRC to give them their the proper name).

Your P45When you stop work for your employer, they will have to fill in your pay and tax details on a form called a P45, and send it to us. As soon as we get it, we will send it on to the tax office, so you will not have a copy personally to show to any other organisations who might want to see it, for example the DWP Benefits Agency.

28 Income tax in retirement

Subject 29

Your pension &the cost of living

We normally increase our pensions in April in line with prices. The increase is the same as the increase in the Consumer Prices Index in the year up to the previous September. This is laid down in law, and is the only way we can pay an increase in your pension.

You will normally get your first pensions increase the April after you retire.

Remember, the closer you retire to April, the smaller your first increase will be, since your benefits have already been based on a more up to date pay. In fact there is a cut off point in March, and if you retire after it, you will have to wait until the following April for your first increase.

If you were a member of the Scheme before 6 April 1997: From State pension age, the DWP will normally share the cost of paying any pensions increase on your pension from us, up to the value of your Guaranteed Minimum Pension. In other words we will pay part of the increase with your pension from us, and the DWP will pay the other part with your State pension.

If you were a member before 6 April 1997, the DWP normally pay part of the increase on your pension from us.

Your pension & the cost of living 29

If there is no increase in the Consumer Prices Index, your pension will stay at the same level.i

30 Subject

Lump sum life cover

Lump sum life coverIf you die before you have drawn your pension for 10 years, we will normally pay what’s left as a lump sum.

In most cases, the lump sum is free from inheritance tax. We will decide who to pay it to, but we will always take your wishes into account - you may have already filled in a lump sum nomination form to let us know who you would like us to pay.

If you haven’t filled one in, and would like a copy, please call our helpline on 0161 301 7000.

It’s important to think about how your loved ones will cope financially when you die. In some cases we will pay out a lump sum, and if you leave a husband, wife, civil partner, nominated cohabiting partner and any dependent children, pensions for them too.

30 Lump sum life cover

Husband or wife: - in other words you are

legally married. No need to take any action now, but if you die, we will need to see your marriage certificate.

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Your dependent children - this normally means children under the age of 18, or under 23 if in continuing education.

No need to take any action now, but we can only pay pensions to children for as long as we class them as dependent.

Nominated cohabiting partner - in other words a long term

partner you have told us about.

For a cohabiting partner to be entitled to a pension, you must fill in a Pensions for Cohabiting Partners Nomination Form. For full terms & conditions please see the form.

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Civil partner - in other words you

have registered a civil partnership.

No need to take any action now, but if you die, we will need to see your civil partnership certificate.

plus

The classes of dependant are...

or or

Pensions for your dependantsIf you leave dependants when you die, we will pay them a pension, as shown in this section.

Pensions for your dependants 31

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32 Subject 32 Pensions for your dependants

We will pay your dependants a pension based on the pay and membership you retired with.

Here’s how we work them out:

Pension for husband, wife, civil partner or nominated cohabiting partner

l All members with membership before 6 April 1988: this won’t count towards a pension for your nominated cohabiting partner unless you pay extra.

l Women who marry after retiring: your husband’s pension is only based on your membership from 6 April 1988, (this includes transferred in contracted out membership, but normally excludes any extra years you may have been given)

l Men who marry after retiring: your wife’s pension is only based on your contracted out membership from 6 April 1978.

i160÷MembershipxPay

Pension for one child, where we also pay a pension to your husband/wife/civil partner or nominated cohabiting partner

320÷MembershipxPay

Pension for one child, where there is no pension for your husband/wife/ civil partner or nominated cohabiting partner

240÷MembershipxPay

Pension for 2 or more children, where we also pay a pension to your husband/wife/civil partner or nominated cohabiting partner

160÷MembershipxPay

Pension for 2 or more children, where there is no pension for your husband/wife/civil partner or nominated cohabiting partner

120÷MembershipxPay

Subject 33 Keeping in touch 33

Keeping in touchThere are various ways we will try to keep in touch with you during retirement, and there are times we need you to keep in touch with us too!

PayslipsWe will send you a payslip in time for your first payment. After that we will only send you a payslip if your payment changes by more than 25p. This normally means you will get a payslip once or twice a year, usually in April and May.

The tax year for our pension payments begins with payments for May and ends with payments for April - this is because the payment for April is made before the start of the new tax year. As April is the last month in the tax year, your payslip will also include your P60 details - a summary of your pay and tax details for the tax year. Please do not throw this away.

Pensioners’ newsletterWe produce a special newsletter for everyone drawing a pension from us. It’s called Pensions Grapevine, and we will send you a copy every year with your April payslip.

Pensioners’ forumThis special one day event has talks by various specialists, information stands staffed by experts from organisations like the DWP, and gives you the chance to meet up with old pals. Watch out for Grapevine for details of the next one.

Keep in touch with us too!Please let us know straightaway about any of these changes...

l If you change address: You can let us know by phone

l If you change your bank or building society account: you must let us know in writing or by calling at our offices

l If you accept another job: if the job is with any employer who takes part in the Local Government Pension Scheme, you must by law let us know about this in writing.

Please let us have

any address or bank changes by the middle of the month,

so we can carry them out for the

month after

34 Subject 34 How to complain

How tocomplainIf you are at all unhappy, first of all talk the problem through with us or your employer - whoever you think is at fault. Many problems are caused by simple misunderstandings, and can be put right quickly and easily this way. But if you feel that you want to take matters further, we have a two stage internal dispute system, as shown on the right.

And at any stage of the internal dispute system, you can also turn to an outside organisation called TPAS for free confidential help. (See next section).

Making your complaintPlease ring our helpline on 0161 301 7000 and ask for our booklet called How to Complain. This gives further details of the dispute system, and includes a form to help you explain your complaint clearly.

Stage 1 - formal complaintYour first step is to put your complaint in writing to whoever you think is at fault - either your employer or this Fund. Please make sure you do this within six months of the problem taking place, as your complaint can only be looked at later than this in special cases.

Complaints against this Fund...Stage 1 Pensions Referee Level 3 Executive Suite Council Offices Wellington Road Ashton-under-Lyne Tameside, OL6 6DL

Stage 2 - further appealIf you are unhappy with the stage 1 decision you have six months to appeal to one of two stage 2 referees, who have been appointed by this Fund. You can also do this if you have gone through stage 1 but haven’t had a reply within three months.

Complaints against your employer...Please write to your employer’s Pensions Officer.

Stage 2 Pensions Referee Level 3 Executive Suite Council Offices Wellington Road Ashton-under-Lyne Tameside, OL6 6DL

Outside organisations 35

The Pensions Regulator is a watchdog which makes sure schemes are run properly, and protects members against fraud. Anyone who is worried about a scheme can report them to The Pensions Regulator.Napier House, Trafalgar Place, Brighton, BN1 4DW

0870 606 3636

The Pension Tracing Service holds the details of all pension schemes, which have to register their details with them. Greater Manchester Pension Fund has done this. If you were in another scheme in the past and you have lost touch with them, the Tracing Service should be able to help:Tyneview Park, Whitley Road, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, NE98 1BA

0845 6002 537

Outside organisations

State pensions: please contact your local Department for Work & Pensions Office

Independent advisers are not tied to selling the products of just one company, but will still charge a fee or earn commission on the products they sell. Call freephone 0800 085 3250 for details of advisers in your area.

The Pensions Advisory Service (TPAS) helps members and beneficiaries with pensions queries, or if they are dissatisfied with the complaints procedure. TPAS cannot force schemes to take action and may refer cases to the Pensions Ombudsman instead. You can contact TPAS through your Citizens Advice Bureau, or at: 11 Belgrave Road, London, SW1V 1RB

0845 601 2923

The Pensions Ombudsman can investigate and determine any complaint or dispute of fact or law in relation to an occupational pension scheme. Pension schemes and members must normally go along with the Ombudsman’s decision unless it is overturned by a court.11 Belgrave Road, London, SW1V 1RB

020 7630 2200

Produced by Tameside MBC, Administering Authority for Greater Manchester Pension Fund. It may be possible to produce this booklet in other formats - please contact us for more information.

Version 16, January 2013

Visit our website to find out more or to contact us by email:

Or call our friendly helpline on:

www.gmpf.org.uk

0161 301 7000Or call in at our offices:

GMPF, Concord Suite, Manchester Rd, Droylsden, M43 6SF.

Here are the ways you can find out more or get in touch with us. If you do contact us, please quote your National Insurance number.

Please let us know your new address if you move house.

Can we help?