Your pension statement explained

Production of 2024 statements has now begun on a rolling basis throughout the summer. You will be notified when your statement is ready to view online.

Your statement does not include any additional calculations for McCloud remedy as we are working with our software provider to update our systems. 

CARE pensionable pay

We’ve worked your CARE pension out using the actual pay you earned up to 31 March 2024. If you’ve been on reduced or no pay due to sickness, injury, child-related absence or reserve forces service leave this should include your assumed pensionable pay (APP) for those periods.

When we work out projected future benefits to your normal pension date we don’t allow for pay inflation. So we use the same pay to work out your CARE pension at your normal pension date as we do for your pension at 31 March 2024.

Final salary rate of pay

This only applies to you if you were a member of the LGPS before 1 April 2014.

Your employer told us your annual rate of pay at 31 March 2024. We used this to work out your final salary benefits. If you work part time, your rate of pay is the full-time equivalent pay for your job. We have used the same rate of pay to calculate your final salary benefits at your normal pension date (NPD). When you leave or retire, the final salary benefits you built up to 31 March 2014 will normally be worked out on the pensionable pay you earned in your final year, or one of the two previous years if that’s higher.

Benefits at 31 March 2024

If you were 55 or older on 31 March 2024, your benefits don't include any early retirement reduction that would apply if you had retired on this date. If you were beyond your normal pension date on 31 March 2024 the benefits quoted include a percentage increase for late retirement.

Normal pension date (NPD)

This is when you can retire and take all the pension you've built up without any reduction. Under the CARE scheme it’s linked to your state pension date (SPD) with a minimum age of 65. Because it's linked, your normal pension date may change in the future if the government changes your state pension date. Final salary benefits have a different normal pension date, which for most members is age 65.

Check your state pension date on the government calculator.

Reduction factors applied when you draw your pension before your normal pension date

The table below shows the reduction applied in the new scheme if you decide to draw your pension early, before your normal pension date. If you draw your pension at your normal pension date no reduction is applied. We apply reductions based on the number of years before your normal pension date you decide to take your pension. This may be different for your final salary and CARE benefits. When the number of years is not exact, we adjust the reduction percentages accordingly. (This is subject to 'Rule of 85' protection, which protects some or all of your benefits from the normal early payment reduction if it applies to you).

*The maximum reduction that can be applied to your automatic lump sum (for membership up to 31 March 2008) is 10 years. This is because these benefits have a protected normal pension age of 65 for almost all members and and you can only draw your benefits from age 55.

Benefits at your normal pension date

This section will be blank if you already reached your normal pension date by 31 March 2024. We assume you will continue in the section of the pension scheme (main or 50/50) you were in on 1 April 2024 until your normal pension date and so continue to build up pension in the same way up to then. Our calculations don’t allow for pay inflation or cost-of-living adjustments – we show your projected benefits to your normal pension date in today’s money. If your normal pension date in the CARE scheme is different to what it is in the final salary scheme we also include an increase for the period between the dates, worked out using actuarial factors. These factors are set by the Government Actuary’s Department (GAD) at a national level and are not locally decided.

You can claim your benefits from the age of 55. If you claim your benefits before your normal pension date they will be reduced because you are claiming them early. You can leave your benefits unclaimed until just before your 75th birthday. If you claim your benefits after your normal pension date they’ll be increased because you are claiming them late.

Please remember that the figures shown on your pension statement are an illustration only based on information given to us by your employer. You must ask for a full pension estimate before you decide to retire. We're sorry but we restrict requests to one per year.

What’s paid if I die before I leave this job?

You can read more about the one-off death grant and who counts as an eligible cohabiting partner in the death benefits section here.

We've worked out your partner pension using the marital status we hold on your pension record if you're married, have a civil partner, are in a same-sex marriage or if you've told us you have a cohabiting partner. If our records show your marital status as single, divorced, widowed or unknown, the partner's pension on your pension statement will shown as a possible partner's pension.

If your marital status is wrong and you would like a revised pension statement based on your present marital status please login above and update your record.

If you die we will check your marital status before we work out what benefits are due, so there’s no need to worry if we don’t currently know your correct marital status.

Current value of partner pensions

Opposite sex marriage/same sex marriage/civil partner

Pre 1 April 2014 membership = reckonable service × 1/160 × final pensionable pay

Post 31 March 2014 membership = 30.625% of a member’s pension

The total partner pension is the above added together.

Co-habiting partner

Pre 1 April 2014 membership = reckonable service from 6 April 1988 to 31 March 2014 only × 1/160 × final pensionable pay

Post 31/03/2014 membership = 30.625% of the member’s pension

The total partner pension is the above added together.

Death in service pension benefits

(Applies only to active members who die while still working and paying in to the pension scheme)

Death grant = 3 times your annual assumed pensionable pay

Partner pension as above, plus

Ill-health enhancement from the day after the date of death to normal pension age, or age 65, whichever is higher.

Ill-health enhancement × 1/160 × annual assumed pensionable pay.

Note. If you marry or start living with a partner after you leave or retire, the amount they receive could be substantially less than shown here.

Pension tax limits

Read more about the annual allowance here.

Other pension scheme membership

When you joined the pension scheme we asked you to complete a form to tell us about any other pension scheme membership you have had. If you haven’t already sent this form back to us, it’s very important that you do it as soon as possible. There is a one year time limit from starting a new post and if you delay you may not be able to do it at all.

• Any decision you need to make about linking previous LGPS membership or transferring other pension rights to WYPF usually has to be made within the first year of joining.
• Other LGPS membership or membership of another public service pension scheme can affect your benefit entitlement from your current membership.
• All LGPS membership has to be taken into account when assessing the amount and payment of a death grant

Are you Scam Smart?

Anyone can be the victim of a pension scam, no matter how financially savvy they think they are. It’s important that you spot the warning signs.

Scammers try to persuade pension savers to transfer their entire pension savings, or to release funds from it, by making attractive-sounding promises they have no intention of keeping.

Don’t let a scammer enjoy your retirement. Visit the FCA’s website on www.fca.org.uk/scamsmart/how-avoid-pension-scams