I would like to increase my benefits

Additional voluntary contributions (AVC) let you invest money in the stock market, directly from your pay, through an AVC provider to give you extra savings for your retirement. Our AVC provider is Prudential. Please get in touch with them to discuss the range of funds available to you.

You can find out more information about AVCs in this LGPS booklet

If you currently pay into an Additional Voluntary Contributions (AVC) plan with Prudential or have done so in the past, please be aware they are currently experiencing delays in the processing of contributions and paying out claims.

Prudential are working hard to resolve the delays and apologise for the inconvenience caused.

How does this affect my contributions?

Prudential have confirmed that any delay in the processing of contributions will not affect your money. Contributions will be backdated to the original date that they were received by them.

The delays may mean that you won’t be able to see an up to date figure when you log in to your Prudential online account. This will be resolved when your contributions are processed.

Your contributions have not been lost and will be processed as quickly as possible by Prudential.

How does this affect making a claim?

Prudential have had delays in issuing claims but have provided reassurance claims will be paid and there is no problem with their ability to pay. However, the delays do mean that you may have to wait longer for your retirement or transfer claim to be completed. Prudential expect this to be resolved by early April.

Closure of Prudential UK Property S3 fund – 22 June 2021

Prudential are closing their UK Property S3 fund on 22 June 2021 and are proposing to move investments in to a multi-asset fund, the Prudential Dynamic Growth I S3 fund (“PDGI”). If you’re not happy with PDGI as the alternative fund for your investments, you can choose a different fund and need to let Prudential know by 1 June 2021.

The property fund remains in deferral, which means certain types of withdrawals continue to be delayed at this time. If you already have an AVC with Prudential, they will be writing to you about this change. If you have any further questions, or you would like more information, please get in touch with Prudential.

You can pay additional pension contributions (APCs) to boost your pension at retirement or to cover lost pension due to authorised unpaid leave or industrial action.

The key points about APCs are:

• You can pay extra contributions to buy up to £7,579 (as at 1/4/2023) of extra annual pension in the Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS). You’ll then receive this extra pension on top of your normal LGPS benefits every year for life.
• At the end of every scheme year, the proportion of extra pension that you’ve paid for in that year is added to your pension account.
• The amount of extra pension bought provides benefits for you only. It’s not used in the calculation of any survivor's or children's pensions.
• You can’t choose to buy extra pension if you’re in the 50/50 section of the LGPS.
• The extra pension you’re buying will be paid at the same time as your main LGPS pension benefits and will increase in line with the cost of living, both before and after you take your pension.
• If you’re paying by regular instalments, you can start to buy extra pension at any time up to a year before your normal pension age (your state pension age with a minimum of age 65). You decide how long you want to pay extra contributions for, although it must be for a number of whole years and payments must be completed by normal pension age. Your normal contributions plus the APCs are taken before your tax is worked out, so, if you pay tax, you’ll get tax relief automatically through payroll.
• If you’re paying by lump sum, you can pay any time before the age of 75. If you choose to make payment directly to your pension fund, you’ll need to arrange tax relief directly with HMRC as the contributions aren’t being taken from your pay.
• Tax relief is available on all pension contributions up to 100% of your taxable earnings.
• You can choose to stop paying APCs at any time by writing to us and your employer.

To help you work out the cost of buying either extra pension or lost pension, LGPS has a calculator on their website Your employer will be able to give you your pensionable pay details for the ‘Buying lost pension calculator’. Please fill in the ‘Buying back lost pension form’ and send to your employer. Once you’ve printed out the results of the calculator, please send a copy of both forms to us.

If you’d like to apply for an APC then you need to get a registered medical practitioner to fill in our medical certificate first.