Lost pension
Lost pension
The facility to buy extra pension in the Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS) in England and Wales is through additional pension contributions (APCs).
Members who are in the main or 50/50 section of the scheme may choose to use an APC to buy back all (not part) of the pension lost due to absence as a result of authorised unpaid leave, strike breaks or unpaid additional child related leave.
Buying all the lost pension will ensure the period relating to the lost pension is included when calculating protections under the underpin and the 85 year rule, and when calculating final pay for benefits relating to pre 1 April 2014 membership.
If a member would like their employer to contribute two-thirds of the cost of buying back the lost pension (excluding strike breaks) then their election must be made within 30 days of the member's return to work – this is known as a shared cost APC.
If a member elects to buy lost pension after the 30 day deadline, you have the discretion to voluntarily pay two-thirds of the cost if you wish.
There are three forms for you to use to notify us about lost pension, depending on the circumstances:
For further information about APCs please see the Local Government Association (LGA) Additional Pension Contributions guide.
As an employer, you have the discretion to purchase an APC for a member. Please contact the customer service team for more information.
Any additional pension bought by the member or their employer is only applicable to the member’s retirement benefits. No additional pension benefits will be payable to any dependents in the event of the member’s death.
If the member would like to buy back lost pension due to mandatory leave you should use the election form to purchase lost pension to cover a period of mandatory leave (P38e).
If you’re planning a mandatory leave exercise, please contact the customer service team in advance of it taking place so that we can manage our resource. It would also be useful for us to know the details of any deadlines you have given to members.
If your procedure is to wait for the member to request information about buying back lost pension then please use application form for the cost of buying lost pension to cover a period of absence (P38(1). This is an application form to receive information about the cost of buying back lost pension, it is not an election form.
You should provide this form to the member but do not complete the employer declaration in section 4 until the member returns the completed form to you.
It is important for you to remember to complete the employer declaration if you are going to pay two-thirds of the cost.
If your procedure is to automatically send out the form to members following an absence for unpaid authorised leave or unpaid additional child related leave, please use the application form for the cost of buying lost pension to cover a period of absence (P38(2).
You should complete the employer declaration in section four before sending the form to the member.