On this page you can find the questions and answers that were asked by attendees during our "LGPS overview" webinar as part of Pension Awareness:
Quick links
Calculations
What does CARE stand for?
CARE stands for Career Average Revalued Earnings. Your pension from 1 April 2014 is worked out on this basis. Find further information on how your pension is worked out.
Does the McCloud remedy also include people already taking their pension?
We are currently checking the pensions of all affected members, including those who are no longer actively contributing or those that are already receiving their pension. If you are affected by the McCloud remedy, we will be in contact with you.
Further information can be found on the LGPS member website.
Are the member and employer contributions combined together and added to the pension ‘pot’?
The LGPS is a defined benefit scheme. Your pension benefits are worked out based on your pay and service. You can find out more about how your pension is worked out.
The amount you pay into our scheme is determined by your annual pensionable earnings, and this amount doesn’t go into your pension ‘pot’ like a defined contribution pension. You can find the employee contribution rates on our paying in page. The contribution bandings are the same for every LGPS Fund across the UK.
If you've been in the scheme since before April 2014, does it benefit you to apply for and be in a higher paid job at the point that you retire, in terms of the final salary scheme benefits?
For your service before 1 April 2014, we work out the value of your pension membership using your final salary pay when you leave your job. Your employer will provide the average of your full-time equivalent pay for the final 365 days of employment for us to calculate your final salary pension, so if you were successful at attaining at higher paid job, this salary would be included.
Find further information on how your pension is worked out.
Annual benefit statements
On the My Pension Online portal, my 2025 statement is not available, please can you explain why?
We are currently in the process of preparing the remaining member statements. There are sometimes delays in preparing statements due to outstanding queries regarding information provided by employers to enable us to calculate your current pension benefits. We will contact members in due course when their statements are available. To access your statements on My Pension Online, go to:
- Dashboard > Documents > My documents
I hold 2 separate records in 2 separate Local Authorities (without break in service). Will my current Derbyshire pension statement include both?
If you have service with another LGPS Fund and you have chosen to keep these separate, your other LGPS provider will have created a separate annual benefit statement for you. Please contact them directly to obtain this information.
When our members join Derbyshire Pension Fund, we provide a form in the Joiner Pack to help investigate transferring in previous pension rights. If this is with another local authority, this is known as an interfund transfer. We also accept transfers in from Club schemessuch as Teachers, NHS, Civil Service. If you would like any support with your individual circumstances, please complete our enquiry form and a member of our team will be happy to help.
Can I book a one-to-one meeting with an advisor to go through my statement and discuss contributions? Or do I need to go through my employer.
If you would like to discuss any details of your statement or have any other queries, our helpline is available from 9am to midday on Monday to Friday, telephone: 01629 538900. A member of our team would be happy to help. Or you can submit an enquiry form.
Please be aware that we are not financial advisors and can only provide you with information on the scheme and your own record.
Increasing your benefits
I have been paying AVCs for a while now. Can I easily find out the total amount of AVCs that I have made?
If you have been making contributions towards an AVC, then the total fund value will be held by your AVC provider, the Prudential. The Prudential should send you an annual statement detailing how your AVC is building.
Further information can be found on additional voluntary contributions.
The Prudential website will also hold more details.
Are there any advantages to monthly lump sum payment for APCs?
We are unable to advise on whether to purchase APCs through a lump-sum or by paying a monthly amount. This will depend entirely on your own circumstances as to what is best for you. For more information on APCs, as well as the links to the extra pension calculator, please visit additional pension contributions.
Does your employer contribute to APC's / AVC's too?
There are 2 ways to increase your pension benefits:
- Additional pension contributions: Buying extra pension and buying lost pension. You can buy extra pension to boost your benefits at retirement. Your employer does not contribute to this type of contract. You can buy back lost pension if you are away from work with no pay. If you elect to buy back the lost pension within 30 days of returning to work your employer will meet two-thirds of the cost (unless your leave was unauthorised).
- Additional voluntary contributions: These help you build up a separate pot of money with our in-house AVC provider the Prudential. This pot is used to provide additional benefits to your LGPS pension. Some of our Fund employers offer Salary Sacrifice Shared Cost AVCs (SSSCAVC) as an option to their employees. This is also known as ‘salary sacrifice AVC’. If your employer offers a SSSCAVC option, this is an arrangement between you and your employer. These schemes allow you to save national insurance contributions as well as income tax if you agree to a reduction in your salary. This means your take home pay increases slightly when compared to paying AVCs in a standard way. Please contact your employer directly to find out more about SSSCAVCs.
Find more information on increasing your benefits.
I wish to speak to someone in the team regarding AVCs rather than by email, is this something you can facilitate?
Our helpline is available Monday to Friday from 9am to midday, telephone: 01629 538900. Please give us a call at a convenient time and one of our Fund’s Team will be happy to support you further with your AVC questions.
Depending on your query, we may refer you to speak with The Prudential directly. The Prudential has more information about AVCs.
Understanding your pension
Do you automatically receive a refund if you leave employment within 2 years, or do you have to request it? Is there an option to stay in the scheme?
If you want to apply for a refund of your pension contributions, and you think you're eligible, please contact us. To check if you’re eligible, visit deferred refunds.
We’ll then write to you with the details of your refund. We'll also ask you to declare that you haven’t started another job eligible for the LGPS. Accepting a refund means you give up any other rights you may have had at that point.
We can’t pay your refund until after a month has passed since you left the scheme. This is because we can’t pay your refund if you return to the LGPS either in Derbyshire or anywhere else in England and Wales within a month of leaving. If we pay it to you more than 12 months after you leave, we'll add interest to cover the period from the date you left.
You can’t pay your refund back to us at a later date to reinstate your scheme membership.
Do you get any information sent to you when you join the pension?
When you join the LGPS, or a new role in the LGPS, we will issue you with a 'Joiner Pack' confirming that you are a member. In this pack are forms for if you wish to investigate a transfer of any previous pension membership into the Fund, as well as a form for nominating someone to be a beneficiary of any death grant lump sums that may be payable on the event of your death.
You can find more information on new joiners.
Any backdated pay settlements can push some members into the next contribution bracket for the month the receive the additional amount. Is it correct that they pay more contributions for that month, even if over the course of the year they are in the lower contribution bracket?
As this would fall into a payroll function and an employer discretion, the relevant team would need to be contacted. Please contact your employer’s payroll team regarding this. They will be able to check whether your employee contribution rate was correctly applied at the time in line with their standard agreed process.
You can find out more information on paying in.
Estimates and retirement
With regards to pension forecasts, how long are these currently taking to process please?
Our Data and Systems Team have been creating and loading 2025 annual benefit statements to My Pension Online. If you have registered for a My Pension Online account, if your statement is available, you can find this in the following location:
Dashboard > Documents > My documents
If our Fund has a query with the information received from our employers, it can delay the creation of statements. You can find reasons for why statements might be delayed and common issues on our active member annual benefit statement page.
You can get formal estimates of your pension benefits. We aim to produce estimates within 2 months of receiving all required information from your employer. Please be aware that you can only receive a written estimate once a year and if you are within 2 years of your proposed retirement date. The Benefit Projectors on My Pension Online can provide estimates outside of the 2 years timeframe.
If I meet the rule of 85, will my benefits be protected if I retire early (about 12 months early?)
The rule of 85 is a protection that applies if you joined the LGPS before 1 October 2006. It protects your pension benefits built up to 31 March 2008, making them payable without early reduction between 60 and 65 years of age, depending on when your Rule of 85 date has been met. If you would like to find out more about your personal circumstances, please complete our enquiry form and a member of our team will be happy to support you further.
Does your AVC count as part of the 25% tax-free lump sum when you choose to retire?
When you retire, you will have several options available to you on what to do with your AVCs. You can take it as part of your tax-free lump-sum, use it to purchase an annuity or you could buy a top-up of your LGPS pension. Find further information on taking your additional voluntary contributions for LGPS members.
Can you be forced to retire?
Our members can continue to pay into the LGPS up to the age of 75. When our members reach age 75 however, they are brought out of the scheme by their employer as their pension benefits must be paid. Our Member Services Team then provide an options letter for payment of pension benefits. You can find out more about when you can be forced to retire.
Death benefits
With regards to a survivors pension, does this not include a co-habiting partner?
A survivor's pension can be paid to:
- a spouse
- a registered civil partner
- an eligible co-habiting partner
You can check whether a cohabiting partner is eligible. Further information is also available on your pension when you die.
I have only recently gone on to part-time employment. Would my death grant just be 3 times the part-time salary despite the 20+ years full-time contribution I have made?
If you are an active member of the Fund, we quote your death in service lump sum on page 3 of your annual benefit statement. The lump sum is 3 times your actual pensionable pay at your date of death. This is paid no matter how long you've been a scheme member.
If you have registered for a My Pension Online account, if your statement is available, you can find this in the following location:
- Dashboard > Documents > My documents
You can also find out more information on death in service.
Does the death in service payment cover those on fixed term contracts or only permanent staff members?
If you die in service as an active member of our scheme, irrespective of how long you've been a scheme member or if you are on a fixed term or permanent contract, a death in service lump sum will be paid. You can find out more information on death in service.