In October 2024 we introduced a new portal, so you will need to transfer your details over, it should take about 5 minutes.

Visit our website, go to ‘My Pension Online'

1. Select 'I currently have an old login and need to transfer my account’.
2. Enter your existing username and password and select 'submit'.
3. If your account is valid you will be asked to answer your security questions, once completed select 'submit'.
   You will go to a one-time security update page.
4. Here it explains we need to verify an email address, set up password and authenticate yourself.
5. Choose the 'I understand button and select continue'.
6. You will now be asked to confirm your email address.
   If this is a work email address, we strongly recommend you change it your personal one. This allows us to stay in touch if your circumstances charge. Once completed select 'confirm email'.
7. You will be asked to setup a new password, once completed, select 'submit'.
   An email has been sent to you with a 2-step authentication code which helps to keep your account secure.. Remember to check your spam/junk folder.
8. Once received input the 6 digit code and select continue

 You will now be taken to your new dashboard.

If you’ve moved to a new house it’s important you let us know. Changing your address online is simple.

Login to ‘My Pension Online’ and select the update my details button (near the bottom of the page). Then select manage my personal details, this will take you to a page where you can update your address and other personal information.

Don’t worry if you don’t have online access - we can now take address changes over the phone. Although, you will be asked security questions so that we’re happy that you’re who you say you are.

If correct addresses are not held for members, then pension payments will be suspended.

If you want to change the bank account your pension is paid to, you can send us a signed letter with your account details on.

We only accept bank accounts registered in the name of the member the pension is paid to.

Please note that we are not able to change your bank details over the phone for security reasons.

As a retired member of the LGPS, a death grant may be due to your loved ones when you die. Check your ‘expression of wish’ information on ‘My Pension Online’, in the manage beneficiaries area to make sure any death grant that may be due, goes to the right person.

If you would like to change this information, you can do so through ‘My Pension Online’.  

Please either write to us, or phone our helpdesk number. Contact details can be found at the bottom of the website.

If you are on paid maternity or another type of paid child related leave, your pension is worked out using your assumed pensionable pay. This means you will keep building up pension benefits in the section of the LGPS you are in, as if you were working and being paid normally. For more information, read the 'child related leave' section on the 'absence and pension contributions' page of this website. 

However, if you go on to a period of unpaid additional maternity leave or adoption leave (normally from weeks 39-52) or unpaid shared parental leave, this will not count for pension purposes. You can if you want to, cover this period of missed pension contributions by paying additional pension contributions (APCs). If you buy back the lost pension contributions within 30 days from returning to work, the cost of the APC is split between yourself and your employer. For more information, read the 'authorised unpaid leave' section on the 'absence and pension contributions' page of this website. 

I’m sorry, we don’t deal with State Pension benefits. You should call the State Pension Scheme on 0345 606 0265 or visit the gov.uk website.

HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) works out your tax code, so you'll need to contact them directly if you think it's wrong. They tell us the correct code to apply. You can contact HMRC on 0300 200 3300.

The contributions you pay towards the LGPS are based on your salary and any overtime and/or additional hours. This makes up your pensionable pay which is used to work out your benefits. Visit the web page, 'what will I pay', to see the current contribution rates.

Your normal pension age is linked to your State Pension age which is based on when you were born. This is the age you can take your pension without reductions.

However, you can take your pension early from 55 but a reduction would be applied to your benefits as they would be in payment for longer.  It's also possible to continue paying into your pension after your normal pension age, continuing to build up benefits that will be increased for late payment.

Early payment of your benefits are subject to an actuarial reduction. The reduction applied depends on the number of years early you take payment of your benefits. Visit the page on early retirements to view the reductions table.

If you'd like a pensions quote, it's now possible to work out your own benefit quotes through ‘My Pension Online‘. 

For more general pensions information, we produce an annual benefit statement for members still paying into the LGPS, and an annual deferred benefit statement for members who have left the LGPS before retirement.

Our current policy is not to charge members for their first quote or request. A second request within the same year for the same reason (e.g. a second transfer quote) could lead to a charge.

Charges may also apply for a divorce. If you're undergoing divorce proceedings please contact our helpdesk on the below number to find out more about the possible charges.

The LGPS is a defined benefit scheme not a defined contribution scheme. This means freedom and choice doesn't apply to the LGPS. 

HMRC rules state that tax should be taken at a rate of 20% before any refund is paid. We don't have any control over this. This tax is taken whether you're a taxpayer or not. You also can't claim the tax taken back from the Tax Office, even if you do not earn enough to pay tax. 

Visit the web page 'Leaving the scheme before retirement' to find out more about refunds. 

If you're under age 75 and your new employer offers membership of the LGPS, you can re-join the scheme even if you’re in receipt of a pension.

However, your pension may be affected if you,

• have previously received compensatory added years from your employer.
• are being paid a tier 3 ill-health pension (which is the type that is stopped if you take up any gainful employment). You must inform the employer who awarded you the ill-health pension if you start a new job (whether in local government or elsewhere). They’ll let you know if the payment of your pension should be stopped.

If you've more than one job in which you pay into the LGPS, and you leave one or more of these jobs and are given deferred benefits, these deferred benefits from the job that's ended are automatically moved to the active pension account for the job you're still working in.

If you wish to keep your deferred benefits separate, you must choose to do so within 12 months of leaving that job, unless your employer allows you longer.

If you're not entitled to deferred benefits from the job you've left (usually because you've worked in it for less than two years), you can't have a refund of your contributions and you must move your benefits to the pension account for the job you're still working in.

If you leave the LGPS with a deferred benefit and later re-join the scheme, your deferred benefits will, in most cases, be moved to the active pension account for your new job. This happens automatically and you don't need to do anything, unless you want to keep your pension benefits separate. 

If you have deferred LGPS pension benefits with another pension fund that isn't the Shropshire County Pension Fund, make sure you tell us on your new member form when you start your new job with Shropshire. 

Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS) members can be sure that their pension, whether in payment or still building up, will be unaffected and is protected.

We want to remind our members that the LGPS is a defined benefit pension and is guaranteed to pay you an annual pension income upon retirement. Your defined benefit pension is not linked to stock market changes, performance of investments or the financial health of your employer. Your benefits are set out in law and kept in a funded scheme. This means the money is kept separate from councils’ finances and based on a calculation set out in the regulations of the scheme.