Transferring deferred benefits

Transferring to other LGPS funds

If you hold a deferred benefit with Staffordshire Pension Fund and you are re-employed within the Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS), either with Staffordshire Pension Fund or across England and Wales, your previous record can be combined with your new pension account. 

If you join the LGPS with Staffordshire Pension Fund, we will contact you automatically to give you your options.

 

Transferring to other pension arrangements

You can transfer the benefits you have built up with Staffordshire Pension Fund to any other occupational pension scheme or a personal pension scheme.

We will allow you to transfer your pension out at any point between your date of leaving and 1 year before your normal pension age. Depending on your dates of joining and leaving membership of the Staffordshire Pension Fund, and the Regulations which apply as a result, your normal pension age will fall between age 60 and your state pension age.

Leaver option form

Please be aware that most pension providers will only allow you to transfer in previous pension rights in the first year of pension membership.

If you let us know on the form below that you were a member of the Staffordshire Pension Fund we will start the transfer out process earlier than waiting for the new scheme to contact us.

Depending on the value of your benefits, you may be required to take independent financial advice before a transfer can be paid.

The Pension Regulator Warning Letter - May 2022

Please see the transfer warning letter below which is available to download and print out.

It was produced jointly by The Pensions Regulator, Financial Conduct Authority and the Money and Pensions Service.

 

What happens if my local government job is transferred to a private contractor?

If your job is transferred to a private contractor, the contractor will normally be required to provide a pension scheme that is broadly equivalent to the LGPS.  This does not mean that the new scheme must mirror the benefits of the LGPS, but that the package offered under the new scheme must be broadly equivalent to the benefits under the LGPS.

The contractor may be able to seek admission body status in the LGPS.  This would enable you to remain in the LGPS so long as you were working in connection with the delivery of the contracted out service.

Please note: if you work within a local education authority school, which is converting to an academy, this will happen automatically and you will remain a member of the LGPS. 

 

Further information

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) have published 5 videos explaining the transfer process. The video will be helpful to those who:

  • have transferred out their defined benefit pension and are unclear whether they received good quality advice
  • are considering transferring out their defined benefit pension and want to understand what the process should look like before they start

More information is also available on our deferred members page.