Ill-health retirement for deferred members

You may be asked by a former member if you'll pay their deferred benefits before normal pension age, if they can't work because of ill-health. For an application to be approved, the former member must be permanently incapable of doing the job they were in when they left the LGPS and were given their deferred benefits. 

If the former member contacts you, you must ask an independent occupational health physician to give an opinion before you can decide whether to approve the application. Unlike for active members there are no enhancements available. This means you don’t need to decide which tier of benefits apply. You can only award payment of deferred benefits. 

The same rules also apply to an active member who has opted out of the scheme or holds deferred pension benefits. If a member has more than one deferred benefit, they need to be dealt with separately.

For more information, read our ill-health frequently asked questions.