Transfer a previous pension

If you have previous pension benefits, you may wish to transfer them into the Local Government Pension Scheme. Transfers must be made within the first 12 months of your LGPS membership in your current employment, unless your employer has a published policy to extend this period.

Do you have previous LGPS benefits?

If you have previous LGPS pension benefits in England or Wales you may be able to join these to your current membership. See: Re-joining the LGPS.

Transfer external pensions benefits

You may be able to transfer your previous pension into the LGPS to increase your pension. Transfers can be accepted from the following: 

  • An occupational pension from a previous employment.
  • A self-employed pension plan. 
  • A 'buy-out' policy.
  • A personal pension plan. 
  • A stakeholder pension.

LGPS regulations do not allow us to accept the following:

  • Transfer of a pension in drawdown.
  • Partial transfer of a pension.
  • A transfer containing pension credits awarded under a pension sharing order. 
  • A previous membership in the LGPS as a Councillor.

Note: an external transfer can take a considerable amount of time to complete, so you are advised to start this process early in your first year of pensionable service. 

What to do:

1. If you decide to investigate a transfer of a previous external pension into the scheme, you will need to send us a cash equivalent transfer value (CETV) from your previous pension scheme.

Please read the Pension Transfer Booklet which tells you in detail how to obtain a CETV. You will find this on the forms page.

2. Send us all the documents provided by your previous pension scheme. These should include:

  • a recently dated CETV,
  • transfer discharge forms.

What to expect:

Once we receive a CETV from you, we will calculate an estimate within 15 working days. This estimate will show the 'earned pension' and/or service credit (depending on the type of transfer received) that the transfer will buy in the LGPS. You can then use the estimate to help you make a decision regarding your proposed transfer.