Local Government Pension Scheme in England and Wales - Access and Fairness

Regulation 91(8) of the 2013 Regulations requires the LGPS employer to make any application to the Secretary of State for a forfeiture certificate within three months of the date of conviction. This is a stricter time limit than in other public service pension schemes. For example there is no equivalent limit in the NHS Pension Scheme, the Police Pension Scheme, the Civil Service Pension Scheme or the Teachers' Pension Scheme. The time limit has led to cases where forfeiture was not possible as an application could not be made in time. 

The government is therefore proposing to remove the time limit of three months to make an application. Abolishing the 3 month time limit to make an application means there will be no circumstances when the employer is unable to make the application in time. Whilst it is intended for this flexibility to help employers make applications, the government would still encourage employers to make applications in a timely manner. If there is a substantial delay between the member being convicted and sentenced and the scheme employer applying for a forfeiture certificate, that may be relevant to the Secretary of State's decision as to whether the offence is gravely injurious to the State or liable to lead to a serious loss of confidence on the public service. 

Under the current LGPS Regulations, the 3 month time limit starts from the date of conviction. Under the proposal to remove the time limit, there is no start date, but conviction remains a prior requirement for an application. The government however considers both the sentence given and sentencing remarks as part of the decision whether or not to issue a certificate, and will only consider applications where both of these have been provided.   

The government is proposing that this change should only apply in respect of persons for whom the existing time limit in regulation 91(8) of the 2013 Regulations had not expired at the point that these changes come into force. Removing the link and the 3-month time limit will only apply from the date a member was convicted on or before 3 months before the amendment to regulations comes into force. For example, if the proposed regulations were to come into force on 1 October 2025, and a member had been convicted of a relevant offence on 30 June, then the 3-month limit would have already expired before this amendment, and a forfeiture application would not be possible. The coming into force date will be determined later in the year, subject to this consultation.