Additional Notes for Deferred Members of the Firefighters' 2015 Pension Scheme

These notes accompany your 2024 deferred benefit statement.

If you take your pension before your Normal Pension Age (NPA), reductions will be applied to your pension. If you take your pension after your NPA, late payment enhancements will be applied. At any time, the Government may change the factors and methodology used to calculate the reductions and increases which may result in a corresponding change to the pension you are paid at retirement. Please be aware that the government is gradually increasing the State Pension Age which will reach 67 by 2028. 

  You can give up some of your annual pension for a lump sum. Each pound you exchange will give a lump sum of £12. This statement shows your benefits with and without exchanging pension. 

Note that HM Revenue and Customs set the limit for the maximum amount of pension that can be exchanged for lump sum.

 

The Lifetime Allowance (LTA) was the amount you could take from all your pension savings without a tax charge. The Finance Act 2024 abolished the LTA in full with effect from 6 April 2024. The LTA has been replace by two new tax allowances. 

Lump Sum Allowance (LSA) - The LSA is a limit on a total amount of tax-free cash an individual can take from all their pension savings. It is set at £268,275 and there is no provision in the legislation for this limit to rise. 
Lump Sum and Death Benefit Allowance (LSDBA) - The LSDBA is a limit on the amount of tax free cash that can be taken by an individual and the lump sum death benefits that can be paid in respect of an individual when they die. It is set at £1,073,100 and there is no provision in the Legislation for this limit to rise.

Transitional tax-free amount certificate (TTFAC) - If you took payment of any pension or lump sum before 6 April 2024, these payments will have used up part of your lump sum allowances. Under HMRC rules, we must assume that you took the maximum lump sum allowed. 

If you took less than the maximum lump sum allowed, you can get a TTFAC. The certificate sets out the total lump sums you have received. We will then use these amounts to calculate how much of the lump sum allowances you have used, rather than assuming you have taken the maximum amount. For most members, a TTFAC will have no effect on the lump sum they can take from the LGPS. The allowances will generally only affect members who have built up very large pensions. 

If you hold a TTFAC, you must send it with your retirement declaration form. If you have sent us a TTFAC, you do not need to tell us about pensions or lump sums taken before 6 April 2024. 

If you are thinking about applying for a TTFAC, you may wish to seek specialist independent financial advice. Some members could be worse off if they apply than they would be without a certificate.

Protect yourself from pension fraud

You are not permitted to transfer your deferred pension to a scheme offering flexible benefits (e.g. a personal pension). However, if you wish to transfer to a defined benefit scheme, you should be aware that pension fraud is increasing. Scam tactics include:

  • websites impersonating well known brands,
  • promise of high/guaranteed returns,
  • pressure to act quickly,
  • free pension reviews,
  • access to your pension before age 55,
  • contact out of the blue.

Many scammers are using social media and other online channels to offer people "too good to be true" incentives such as free pension reviews, early access to their money, or time limited offers. Lured by these attractive offers, people are coerced into transferring their savings into a scam scheme designed to fleece them of their savings.

Please read the guidance document produced by The Pensions Regulator.

Previous Years' Benefit Statement Notes