Local Government Pension Scheme in England and Wales - Access and Fairness
Transfers from Other Public Service Schemes for Members Over 65 Years Old
Regulation 4G of the 2014 Regulations states that an eligible member’s underpin date is at a maximum age 65, or earlier if the member leaves active membership or takes flexible retirement. This reflects that a member’s normal retirement age under the previous scheme would have been 65.
If a member joins the LGPS after age 65, they would not build up any benefits to be protected by the remedy. However, if a member transfers in from another public service scheme after age 65, that member may have protected benefits, from their prior service before and after age 65, that go beyond the LGPS cut-off of age 65. Currently there is no mechanism to give such a member an underpin date, provisional underpin amount or provisional assumed benefits.
The government proposes to create a new mechanism to give such members an underpin date that is the date on which the transfer payment was made. Specifically, this would be an amendment of Regulation 4G of the 2014 Regulations, to add this new definition of underpin date, and to require that calculations made under this regulation must be made in accordance with actuarial guidance.
The government then intends to update McCloud guidance to cover this scenario, and to explain its interpretation of how a provisional underpin amount and provisional assumed benefits would be calculated for such a member.