Welcome to your Pensioner newsletter for 2024
which contains important information about your Fire pension
Update from the Fund
The Hampshire & IoW Firefighters Pension Board held four meetings in the last year. The group of 8 representatives provide assurance that there is good governance in the pension administration of the scheme and discuss a range of pension related topics at their meetings. Details of all meetings and representatives can be found on the Committee Details webpage: www.democracy.hants.gov.uk/mgCommitteeDetails.aspx?ID=752
The Implementation of the McCloud age discrimination remedy has continued during this year. Members will have received or will be receiving information about their options. Please read any information carefully and raise any queries as directed by the communication.
Further information is available in the following places:
- Hampshire Pension Services: www.hants.gov.uk/hampshire-services/pensions/fire-rescue/all-schemes/mccloud-sargeant-age-discrimination
- Firefighters' Pension Scheme member pages: www.fpsmember.org/remedy
Work has also continued on the implementation of the Matthews pension remedy and members are thanked for their patience while this technically complex activity is undertaken. Please review and respond to any communications you are sent about this remedy.
Please direct any general queries about the Matthews pension remedy to [email protected].
For further information please see the following link:
- Firefighters' Pension Scheme member pages: https://www.fpsmember.org/fps-2006-special-members/second-options-exercise
Catherine Edgecombe
Chief Finance Officer
Hampshire and IoW Fire and Rescue and Authority
Scheme Details
Firefighters' Pension Scheme (FPS) - Arrears Payroll
Pay As You Earn (PAYE) reference: 120/BB92404
Contact details
We encourage you to visit our website for information and our latest news.
Please ensure that you quote your National Insurance number when contacting us.
| Send us a secure message through the Member Portal | To register or sign into Hampshire Pension Services Member Portal, visit: mypensionportal.hants.gov.uk |
| Website | www.hants.gov.uk/pensions |
| [email protected] | |
| Write to | Hampshire Pension Services The Castle Winchester Hampshire SO23 8UB |
| Telephone | 01962 845588 |
| Opening hours | Monday to Friday: 09:00 to 16:30 Weekends and public holidays: Closed |
Keep us updated
Your pension is very important so it it essential that you can access your pension information and keep us up to date with any changes in your personal circumstances.
The easiest way to do this is using our online Member Portal. This will allow you to:
- securely view payslips and your P60,
- change your address, name or marital status,
- update your bank details,
- view any changes in your tax code,
- add or amend 'expression of wish' nominations,
- send us a secure message.
To register or sign in, visit: mypensionportal.hants.gov.uk. Once you have registered, we will then contact you electronically when we need to share information with you about your pension.
Pension pay dates for 2025/26
| Month | Payment Date | Month | Payment date |
|---|---|---|---|
| April | 30 April 2025 | October | 31 October 2025 |
| May | 30 May 2025 | November | 28 November 2025 |
| June | 30 June 2025 | December | 31 December 2025 |
| July | 31 July 2025 | January | 30 January 2026 |
| August | 29 August 2025 | February | 27 February 2026 |
| September | 30 September 2025 | March | 31 March 2026 |
Tax codes
Your pension is a taxable income. If you have a new tax code for the year 2025/26, it will apply from the first pension payment after 6 April, which will be 30 April 2025.
We can only apply tax code changes that are received from HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC).
Important: please check your pension payslip carefully, to ensure that we have used the correct tax code for your pension.
Contact HMRC (not Hampshire Pension Services), at the following address, if you have a query with your tax code. You will need to quote your National Insurance number.
Pay As You Earn
Address: HM Revenue and Customs, BX9 1AS
Telephone: 0300 200 3300
HMRC also provide an online personal tax account that allows you to view and check your tax records at any time. Go to www.gov.uk/personal-tax-account to access this service.
Payslips and P60s
Your payslips and your P60 can be viewed or downloaded for printing through our Member Portal.
If you've opted out of electronic communication, we will post you:
- a payslip twice a year, before the April and May payments are made,
- your P60 after the end of the tax year (usually May) and
- a pensioner newsletter.
If you would like other payslips throughout the year, you will need to contact us to request this. Any queries regarding your tax should be directed to HM Revenue and Customs.
Changes to your personal details
Whilst we aim to communicate with our members electronically, there may be times when we need to contact you by post. Therefore, you need to inform us of any changes to your information by following the guidance below.
Home address or email address
You can change the address we hold for you through the Member Portal. You can also write to us or email us. Please include the following information:
- full name,
- date of birth,
- National Insurance number,
- previous address.
We cannot accept a change of addresses by telephone.
Name
If you are changing your name, we will require a copy of the relevant certificate (marriage certificate/change of name by deed poll). You can do this through our Member Portal, you can post us a copy or you can email us a scanned copy.
Bank details
The most secure way to change your banking details is via the Member Portal. Alternatively, you can write to us, but you must include your signature in the letter in order to verify the amendment and protect you from fraud. We can accept a scanned letter sent by email, but this must be a clear image and also be signed.
Any requests for changes to bank details received after the 17th of the month may not be updated in time for your next pension payment. Instead, we will apply the changes to the following payment.
If your bank or building society return a payment to us, we will suspend your pension payments until we have received up-to-date information from you. When your details have been updated, any arrears due to you will be included within the next available payroll run.
Acting on someone's behalf?
Some pensioners ask relatives or friends to help with their financial affairs. To grant a nominated individual or company permission to discuss your pension details with us, we can accept a letter of authority, found at: https://www.hants.gov.uk/hampshire-services/pensions/fire-rescue/forms-guides/WestSussexForms
To enable someone else to authorise changes to your pension record, such as change of address or bank details, we require evidence of either:
- A power of attorney or
- A Court of Protection order
For information on how to make a power of attorney, see:
Pension increases
Your pension is reviewed each year, in line with inflation. Any increase is applied from April. This year the increase is effective from 7 April 2025. The rate of the increase is set by HM Treasury based on the rate of the Consumer Price Index (CPI) in the previous September. Once the rate of increase has been approved by Parliament, we are formally notified and can apply the change to your pension.
The full increase for April 2025 is 1.7%.
However, you may not receive the full pension increase with your Firefighters' pension. There are three main reasons for this - Your age, how long your pension has been in payment and the State Pension
There are more details of how the pension increase is applied to your pension on our website. The flowchart below shows how your pension will be increased each year.
Latest News
McCloud Remedy
Some LGPS members are protected by the McCloud Remedy depending on when they became a member of the LGPS and any public service pension scheme. You can find out more on the websites for LGPS members: www.lgpsmember.org/mccloud
Most pensions will not increase and will remain at the current value, even if a member is protected by the McCloud Remedy. This is because the pension that members built up in a career average scheme is more than they would have built up in the final salary scheme.
We have recently contacted pensioner members who need to provide further information for us to be able to establish if they are eligible for McCloud Remedy. If you have not heard from us, there is nothing further you need to do.
If you pension increases as a result of the McCloud Remedy, we will contact you with further details. We aim to have completed our recalculations by 31 August 2025.
The Chancellor's Mansion House
The Chancellor's Mansion house speech in November 2024 was headlined as the "biggest pension reforms in decades" with commentary about the merger of LGPS assets unlocking billions of pounds of investment in UK businesses and infrastructure including local projects.
Importantly this does not change the benefits available to members or the way that the Scheme is administered.
What The Government is proposing is that the way that the 86 separate LGPS authorities invest is done on a more centralised basis, to build on the approach taken to pooling the assets since 2015. The intention is that this will continue to reduce costs, improve returns and provide more opportunity to invest in UK and local opportunities.
However, as a member of the LGPS, your pension is not affected by how well investments performs and you will continue to receive defined benefits, based on the Scheme rules.
Are you a low-income pensioner?
The Government is asking for pensioners to check if they would be eligible for Pension Credit. A person who receives Pension Credit is also entitled to a number of other benefits including the Winter Fuel payment.
If you are in any doubt about your eligibility please read:
Scroll to the bottom of the webpage to find instructions on applying for Pension Credit.
Preventing online and telephone scams
No one thinks they'll be caught out by a scam, but it happens more often than you think.
The Money Helper website, which is sponsored by the Department for Work and Pensions provides information on various types of scams and what to do if you think you have been scammed. See: www.moneyhelper.org.uk/en/money-troubles/scams/a-beginners-guide-to-scams
To stay safe:
- You should always be careful with your personal details and your bank account details. Shred personal information before putting in a bin.
- Use our secure Member Portal to send a message to Pension Services, update your personal information or submit an expression of wish regarding any death grant. We will never ask you for your Portal password, either in an email or by telephone.
- Use strong passwords. A password made of three random words is the most secure. Do not share this information with other people or leave it written down where someone else may see it.
- Do not open any email attachments without first checking that the email is from a trusted source. You should check the sender's email address very carefully as some criminals use email addresses which are very similar to those of reputable organisations.
- If you visit a website to carry out a secure transaction that the green padlock and the https:// symbol are showing in your browser search bar. This means that the website has been set up to encrypt your transaction.
- Always check the web address of an organisation in your browser search bar. Some scammers set up websites which look similar to those a reputable company and use a similar web address, but add numbers, hyphens, or other characters to the web address.
- Use caution if someone telephones you, do not give any personal information. It is fine to say "No" and end the call. If you need to give information to an organisation, look up the telephone number yourself and make the call, rather than accepting an incoming call.
- Allow your computer system to do regular software updates. The latest updates will give you the best protection from malicious activity.
- Ensure that you have a good quality antivirus software package on your computer to protect you against computer viruses.
Fraud prevention
To detect and precent fraud, we regularly review members' entitlement to continue to receive pension benefits. So, from time to time, to ensure our compliance with LGPS regulations and the Finance Act 2004, we contact members - especially those who live overseas - and ask for confirmation of some details.
If we contact you, we will provide information on how to respond and ask that you do this promptly to prevent delays to future payments. There are online and paper-based forms to provide the information we need; completed paper forms can be returned by either post or email.
Our auditors may also request that we supply details of pension payments to third parties. This is to compare our records with those that other public bodies hold to help prevent fraud.
Modification
If you are affected by National Insurance modification regulations, then details of any modification to your pension benefit were included in your original retirement letter.
If modification applies to your pension, and you have no yet reached state pension age (SPA), we will write to you the month before SPA to inform you of the adjustment that will be made.
Overseas payments
If you live overseas, you can have your pension paid into your overseas bank account.
We use a system called Convera to pay pensions to overseas bank accounts. We need two weeks' notice to set up the arrangement with Convera before we can make payment to overseas accounts.
Convera do not charge an administration fee. Instead, they make their margin through a reduction to the exchange rate payable.
Re-employment
If you are re-employed in any capacity with any Fire & Rescue Authority you must write to us with your salary, grade, hours and any subsequent changes.
Such employment may affect your pension. If your pension is overpaid because you fail to notify us of your re-employment, the overpayment will be recovered from future payments.
Transfers & Divorce
Please note that it is not possible to transfer a pension in payment, to another pension scheme.
You may be asked for a cash equivalent value (CEV) of your pension as part of any divorce proceedings. If so, please send us your written request for a CEV. In all cases there will be a charge for providing this information.
Don't forget to keep us updated with any change of address resulting from your divorce.
Injury pension and State benefits
If you are in receipt of an injury pension and are receiving any State benefits (which are paid specifically because of the injury that you received whilst on duty), these benefits are considered 'additional benefits' and may be deducted from your injury pension.
You must keep us informed of any changes in the scale or amounts of these benefits, other than the usual annual increases, so that the amount of injury pension payable to you can be assessed correctly. We also need to know if you are not entitled to receive any of these benefits, so that we can pay you the full amount of injury pension.
We will need to see copies of any letters from the Department for Work and Pensions to verify the benefits and amounts which you may or may not be entitled to.
Pensions payable to surviving dependants
If you die before your partner, they may be eligible to receive a pension. The rules for this depend on when you left the employment for which you are now receiving a pension.
The scheme regulations are very complicated and there is no straightforward answer to the question: 'how much will my dependants get in the event of my death?'
The amounts that are payable depend of a number of factors, including:
- when you left the scheme,
- your pensionable service,
- your marital status, and
- whether you have any eligible children.
Note: if you marry after you stop contributing to a membership, then this may affect the amount of pension payable to your surviving partner.
You can find more information about the dependants' benefits on our website. If you require specific information based on your own circumstances, please use the 'request for a partner pension estimate' form on our website.
Tell Us Once
We participate in the "Tell Us Once" service that is offered when a bereavement is registered. You can find our more about this service at:
www.gov.uk/after-a-death/organisations-you-need-to-contact-and-tell-us-once
Useful contacts
GOV.UK - General information about Government services
Website: www.gov.uk
Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) - Queries about your State Pension
Telephone: 0800 731 0469
Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) - Claim your State Pension
Telephone: 0800 731 7898
Money Helper - Free and impartial advice on money and pensions, set up by Government
Website: www.moneyhelper.org.uk
Telephone: 0800 011 3797
TaxAid - Help with a tax problem if HMRC can't sort it out
Website: www.taxaid.org.uk
Tax Help for Older People - Tax advice for older people on low income
Website: www.taxvol.org.uk
Telephone: 01308 488066
Pensions Ombudsman
Address: 10 South Colonnade, Canary Wharf, E14 4PU
Website: www.pensions-ombudsman.org.uk
Telephone: 0800 917 4487
HMRC
Pay As You Earn
Address: HM Revenue and Customs, BX9 1AS
Telephone: 0300 200 3300
Our service aims
- Treat all members fairly and politely.
- Answer all calls promptly, within office hours.
- Reply to your letters or emails within five working days or contact you to explain why we need to take longer to resolve your query.
Hampshire Pension Services have maintained the Customer Service Excellence (CSE) certification following an annual review in January 2025. We have held this since first being awarded it in 2009.
We are continuously looking for ways to improve our service to you and we welcome any feedback that you give us, good or bad. If appropriate, we will change our processes to ensure that we provide you with an efficient service that meets your needs. You can write to us with your feedback or complete our online survey which can be found on our website: https://hampshirecc.welcomesyourfeedback.net/lzlp52
If you are not happy with the way we have dealt with your pension or with our service to you, please let us know. Most problems can be sorted out quickly. We are happy to put right any mistake that may have occurred, and an informal enquiry of this kind may save you a lot of time and trouble.
However, if you do wish to complain please email: [email protected]
Or write to:
Hampshire Pension Services
Hampshire County Council
The Castle
Winchester
SO23 8UB