Joining the scheme
Membership of the LGPS is automatic: pension contributions are deducted from your your salary unless you opt out of the scheme. This applies to all local government employees appointed on a three-month contract or longer, working on either a full-or part-time basis.
If employed on a casual (ad hoc) basis, with no permanent contract, you will be automatically entered into the LGPS once you have completed three months of employment, even if this is achieved through one or more consecutive contracts, with the option to backdate contributions to your original start date. If you have more than one eligible job, it is possible to have more than one LGPS pension.
The LGPS is administered locally for participating employers through 99 regional pension funds. Visit the LGPS website to find out how to contact your pension fund administrator, or ask your employer.
If working for an admitted body* you have to apply to join the LGPS, entry to which is at the discretion of your employer. You will need to ask your employer what pension arrangements are in place for you.
If you have opted out of the LGPS at any time and start a new post that you wish to be pensionable, it will be necessary for you to opt back in.
You may have pensionable and non-pensionable employment at the same time.
Contributions
If your actual pensionable pay is: | You pay a contribution rate of: |
---|---|
Up to £15,000 | 5.5% |
£15,001 to £23,600 | 5.8% |
£23,601 to £38,300 | 6.5% |
£38,301 to £48,500 | 6.8% |
£48,501 to £67,900 | 8.5% |
£67,901 to £96,200 | 9.9% |
£96,201 to £113,400 | 10.5% |
£113,401 to £170,100 | 11.4% |
£170,101 or more | 12.5% |
* LGPS salary ranges and contribution bands 2022-23
So, if your salary is £22,000 per annum you would pay 5.8% of this, or £1,276 per annum (£106.33 per month) as your pension contribution.
If your pay changes during the year, due to a promotion for example, your employer may decide to review your contribution rate, as it is based on your pensionable pay or they may decide to review this at the end of the scheme year (31 March).
Remember, pension contributions continue to be tax free, meaning you pay tax on your earnings after pension contribution has been deducted.
Part-time workers, from 2014, pay the rate relating to the band their actual earnings fall into.
The bands will be increased every three years. This means that as your pay increases you may move into a higher band, but when the bands are adjusted you may move back down into a lower band.