Welcome to your Pensioner newsletter for 2024
which contains important information about your Fire pension
Message from the Scheme Manager
We hope you find the content of this newsletter informative.
Alongside the regular information about tax, pension payment dates and the Scheme Benefits we wanted to highlight a few articles:
- The Firefighters Pension Schemes provide you with a secure and guaranteed income every year, which is adjusted to take into account the cost of living. The full increase for April 2024 is 6.7%
- There is a separate welfare benefit for eligible pensioners (Pension Credit). Pension Credit provides extra income for people over State Pension age on lower incomes and may also qualify you for other benefits. Further information can be found at www.gov.uk/pension-credit, by calling 0800 991234 or textphone on 0800 169 0133
- On 1 October 2023 regulations changed which extended protections for members relating to the effect of Scheme changes in 2015. The administration team will automatically contact everyone who is affected by this Remedy by March 2025. You do not have to do anything.
- Over 60% of pension members have registered to use our online Member Portal and the team are available to assist to register or use this service. Please email [email protected] or call 01962 845588. The Member Portal provides a secure way to provide information and answer queries, and allows you to easily update your personal details or your nominations.
- Unfortunately, investment and pension scams are increasing, are often sophisticated and can be difficult to spot. We have included top tips to help you safeguard your personal details and your bank account details.
- The Advisory Board continues to monitor the effectiveness and efficiency of the governance and administration arrangements. We are continuously looking for ways to improve our services to you. We welcome any feedback that you give us, good or bad.
Scheme Details
Firefighters' Pension Scheme (FPS) - Advance 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 a Member Portal secure message | 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 |
Member Portal
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 2024/25
| Month | Payment Date | Month | Payment date |
|---|---|---|---|
| May | 1 May 2024 | November | 1 November 2024 |
| June | 31 May 2024 | December | 29 November 2024 |
| July | 1 July 2024 | January | 31 December 2024 |
| August | 1 August 2024 | February | 31 January 2025 |
| September | 30 August 2024 | March | 28 February 2025 |
| October | 1 October 2024 | April | 1 April 2025 |
Pension increases - how your pension keeps pace with inflation
Your pension is reviewed each year so it maintains its spending power. Any increase is applied from April. This year the increase is effective from 8 April 2024.
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 2024 is 6.7%.
However, you may not receive the full pension increase with your Firefighters' pension. There are three main reasons for this.
- Your age
If you are under 55 your pension will not normally receive any inflation increases except for some instances of ill-health retirements or for those receiving dependants' pensions. - The interaction with state pension
If you reached state pension age (SPA) before 6 April 2016 the payment of your increases may be split between your Firefighters' pension and state pension. - How long your pension has been in payment
If you have started receiving your pension since April 2023, you may only receive a part year increase this year.
There are more details of how the pension increase is applied to your pension on our website, including an easy-to-use flowchart showing how your pension will be increased each year.
Please see the Pension Increase Flowchart to review what pension increase you are likely to receive.
Tax codes
Your pension is a taxable income. If you have a new tax code for the year 2024/25, it will apply from the first pension payment after 6 April, which will be 1 May 2024.
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 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
Latest News
The Firefighters' pension scheme regulations changed on 1 October to remove any age discrimination caused by the change of regulations in 2024 (2015). This is called the McCloud Remedy.
Hampshire Pension Services will automatically contact everyone who is affected by the Remedy. You do not have to do anything. We have many cases to deal with so it will take a while to contact affected members.
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 if you change your address or email address it is important you that you let us know.
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 address by telephone.
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 returns 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.
If you act on someone's behalf (such as holding Lasting Power of Attorney, Court of Protection, or form BF57 'appointment to act' from the Department for Work and Pensions) the relevant document must be included with any request if we do not already hold this on record.
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 send us a scanned copy or you can post a copy to us.
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
You should always be careful with your personal details and your bank account details. Shred personal information before putting in a bin.
To stay safe:
- Use our secure Member Portal to send a message to Pension Services, or to update your address or bank details 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 attachment without first checking 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, make sure 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 of a reputable company and use a similar web address, but add numbers, hyphens, or other characters to the web address.
- 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 against computer viruses.
Fraud prevention
To detect and prevent fraud, the Scheme regularly reviews a member's entitlement to continue to receive pension benefits. Because of this, we periodically 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 or there may be delays in future payments to you. If we ask you to complete a form, we can accept the completed form 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.
Overseas payments
If you live overseas, you can have your pension paid into your overseas bank account.
We use 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 leaving pensionable 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
Power of Attorney
Some pensioners ask relatives or friends to help with their financial affairs. To enable us to take their instructions about a 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:
Personal tax account - HMRC
HMRC provide an online personal tax account that allows you to view and check your tax records at any time.
You can use this account to:
- check your income tax estimate and tax code,
- complete, submit and view a personal tax return,
- claim a tax refund,
- check how much Income tax you paid in the previous 5 years,
- check and manage your tax credits,
- check your state pension,
- track tax forms that you've submitted online,
- tell HMRC about a change of name of address.
Go to www.gov.uk/personal-tax-account to access this service.
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.
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 aims
We aim to:
- 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.
We welcome all suggestions for improving our website or our newsletters. If you have any ideas on how to improve our communication, please do contact us.
Our service
Hampshire Pension Services has maintained the Customer Service Excellence (CSE) certification following an annual review in January 2024. 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.
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
The Castle
Winchester
Hampshire
SO23 8UB
Member website - Tell us what you think
Our website is packed with information about your pension and we regularly add updates. We’d love to know what you think and if you have any suggestions to improve it. Please help us by completing our survey giving us your views.