Service Pre and post 01/04/08 - there are different accrural rates and commutations.
The London Borough of Hackney is part of the Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS). This is a statutory, funded pension scheme. As such, it is very secure because its benefits are defined and set out in law. The LGPS is contracted out of S2P (formerly SERPS) and must, in general, provide benefits at least as good as most members would have received had they been members of S2P.
Highlights of the benefits provided by the LGPS are:

• a tax-free lump sum when you retire;
• a pension based on your final pay ;
• the ability to increase your pension by paying extra contributions;
• voluntary retirement from age 60;
• retirement from age 50 with your employer’s consent;
• an ill-health pension from any age;
• redundancy cover from age 50;
• a death-in-service lump sum of two times your final pay;
• a widow’s/widower’s or civil partner’s pension;
• children’s pensions;
• the index-linking of benefits to ensure that they keep pace with inflation.

In addition, as a member of the LGPS, your contributions will attract tax relief at the time they are deducted from your pay. Unless you have opted to pay the married woman’s/widow’s reduced rate of National Insurance, you will also pay lower National Insurance contributions between the lower and upper earnings limits up to State pension age.

The scheme reforms and improvements mean the contribution rate payable by members from 1 January 2007 is X.X%.

You can pay extra to increase your retirement benefits. You can do this either by paying additional regular contributions (ARCs) to buy extra LGPS pension, or by making payments to a personal pension, stakeholder pension or free-standing AVC scheme of your own choice.

Yes. You can pay extra to increase your retirement benefits. You can do this either by paying additional regular contributions (ARCs) to buy extra LGPS pension, or by making payments to a personal pension, stakeholder pension or free-standing AVC scheme of your own choice. There is one open AVC arrangement available for the Active Fund with Prudential. Further details regarding the benefits available can be obtained from Xafinity Paymaster, Sutherland House, Russell Way, Crawley, RH10 1UH. Please quote your pensions reference on any correspondence.

Yes, however any application should be made within 12 months of your joining Hackney. You should put your request in writing to London Borough of Hackney Pensions, Xafinity Paymaster, Sutherland House, Russell Way, Crawley, RH10 1UH. You should include details of your previous pension scheme. Xafinity Paymaster will contact your previous pension provider for details of the transfer value. On receipt of this information Xafinity Paymaster will calculate the value of the Hackney credit available. They will then write to you asking you if you wish to proceed with the transfer. The transfer will only take place on receipt of your authority to proceed.

Xafinity Paymaster should write to you, informing you that you may elect to aggregate your previous period of membership to count in relation to your new period of membership. This correspondence should explain the full implications of the aggregation. You need to make this election within 12 months of rejoining the scheme.

You should either notify your employer or write direct to the Administrator, London Borough of Hackney Pensions, Xafinity Paymaster, Sutherland House, Russell Way, Crawley, RH10 1UH providing them with details of your previous LGPS Fund membership. Xafinity Paymaster will request details from your previous LGPS Fund. On receipt of the deferred pension details Xafinity Paymaster will contact you informing you that you may elect to transfer and aggregate your previous period of scheme membership. You need to make this election within 12 months of joining Hackney.

I would like to find out more about the benefits available via Club Together? Further details can be found in our Club Together Newsletters.

Employers should provide new appointees, both full and part-time with the Guide to the Scheme, if they have not previously received one and informing them that, without exception, they are automatically members of the scheme unless they opt out. Further information can be found in the Employer Guide under Employers responsibilities.

We are instructed by the HMRC to apply relevant tax codes. For further information and questions about your income tax assessment, please contact the HMRC.

For queries on the London Borough of Hackney LGPS you should contact:

HMRC
NORTH EAST METROPOLITAN
FOUNTAIN COURT
119 GRANGE ROAD
MIDDLESBROUGH
TS1 2AT

Telephone: 0845 3021414

Tax Office Ref is 120/NZ47334

Scheme Reference number (SCON) is S2700111N

Employer Reference number (ECON) is E3900002R

If you need to speak to the HMRC about completing an individual Self Assessment then please contact
Self Assessment Helpline

Opening hours 8.00 am to 8.00 pm, seven days a week - Closed Christmas Day, Boxing Day & New Year's Day
Telephone: 0845 900 0444

If you're calling from abroad please telephone: +44 161 931 9070 www.hmrc.gov.uk

If a pensioner dies within 5 years of taking pension benefits, a Supplementary Death Grant (SDG) is payable which calculated as follows:

The SDG = AR - AP where:

AR is 5 times the annual rate of pension payable on death, ignoring any reduction due to abatement. The annual rate of pension is the net amount of pension payable after any reduction due to an actuarial reduction or the conversion of pension to take a higher retirement lump sum.

AP is the amount of this pension which has been paid up to the member's date of death.

Your pension payment will be credited to your bank account on the 25th of each month (or the last working day preceding this if the 25th falls on a bank holiday or weekend).

A deferred member is a member of the Hackney Pension Fund who has left pensionable service and is not yet receiving retirement benefits.