Refund of Contributions
If you have been paying into the Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS) for less than 2 years you can receive a refund of your contributions.
If you left the scheme between 1 April 2004 and 31 March 2014, you could only have a refund of contributions if you had been paying into the LGPS for less than 3 months.
The amount that is payable is the total amount of contributions you paid into the scheme, less an automatic deduction of tax at 20%. You cannot reclaim this amount from HMRC. If you were a member of the scheme before 5 April 2016 there may also be a deduction called "Certified Amount" this is a deduction equivalent to the difference in national insurance contributions you would have paid as a member of the LGPS.
When will I receive my refund?
Once you leave the scheme, if you would be entitled to receive a refund of your contributions, we will write to you automatically with a claim form. You cannot return the form until one month and one day after your date of leaving. On receipt of the form, we will calculate and pay the refund of contributions.
A refund cannot be paid until one month and one day after you leave the LGPS. If you re-join the scheme anywhere in England and Wales before the refund has been paid, you will no longer be entitled to receive the payment and your pension records will be combined automatically.
I haven't received my refund
If you decide not to claim the refund automatically, so it is left Frozen with Staffordshire Pension Fund and do not re-join the LGPS within 5 years, your refund will be paid automatically. You can transfer a frozen refund record to any other qualifying pension scheme.