Welcome to your Pensioner newsletter for 2024
which contains important information about your pension
Message from the Fund
The Pension Fund Committee is responsible for overseeing the governance of the London Borough of Hillingdon Pension Fund, including investment management and pensions administration. It monitors the Fund closely to ensure the Fund is delivering the requisite level of governance and administration and that its investments are being managed effectively.
The Fund works closely with its LGPS pool, the London Collective Investment Vehicle (LCIV), to achieve efficiencies through pooling of Pension Fund assets. This allows the Fund to benefit from the lower fees negotiated by LCIV on its Legal and General Passive Equities Portfolio, as well as lower fees with Active Equity, Diversified Growth, and Alternative Investment managers. The Fund's proportion of assets pooled now is over 82%, making the London Borough of Hillingdon Pension Fund one of the biggest investors within the London CIV pool. This commitment reinforces the Fund's support for LCIV and pooling and is in with the direction of travel being prescribed by the Government.
The Pension Fund is committed to being a responsible investor and in the last year signed up to the new UK Stewardship Code to demonstrate its commitment to active and engaged monitoring of corporate governance in the interests of its members. To this end, the Fund actively engages with its fund managers through various means to incorporate Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) considerations into investment processes and ensure active engagement with invested companies in key areas. The Hillingdon Pension Fund is only one of two local authority funds in London to have met the criteria and be approved a signatory to the new UK Stewardship Code.
The Pension Fund launched its inaugural Responsible Investment Policy in 2020, setting out the Fund's commitment to environmental, social and governance factors as a core part of its investment decision making. This Responsible Investment Policy is aligned with the Fund's Investment Strategy Statement where an overview on ESG and voting is included. In addition, the policy is aligned with the Fund's, Funding Strategy Statement with consistency of objectives and return expectations to support the funding level. This Responsible Investment Policy is reviewed annually to ensure it remains up-to-date and relevant.
The Fund has also reorganised its equity portfolio to reduce its carbon exposure. An example of this can be seen through the transferring of a previous active UK equity portfolio to a Paris Aligned Fund managed by LCIV. This Fund is in alignment with the Paris Climate Agreement and screens out carbon intensive companies that do not, or will not, play a role in the transition to a low-carbon future.
The Fund is signed up to the Taskforce on Climate Related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) and can report that it has reduced its carbon footprint by approximately 50% over the last three years through targeted portfolio realignment as shown in the example above.
The Fund undertakes an annual ESG impact assessment of its portfolios by rating all fund managers on a set of traditional criteria to determine if they meet expected minimum level rating. At an overall level, the Fund complies with the "meets traditional criteria" level which is positive and demonstrates that fund managers are delivering in line with expectations.
The Fund always works in the best interest of its members to ensure investment return objectives are achieved whilst also integrating ESG issues into the portfolio of investments.
Pension Board Vacancy
A vacancy exists on the Local pension Board for an employee representative due to the expansion of the board membership. Interest in the position is welcome from Pensioner members for this vacancy.
This is an exciting opportunity for a scheme member representative to become directly involved in influencing the running of the Pension Scheme and I invite you, as a scheme member, to consider submitting an expression of interest by applying to be appointed to the vacant employee representative position.
An expression of interest should be in writing, no longer than 150 words and sent to [email protected] no later than 15 May 2024. Appropriate candidates will then be shortlisted and interviewed for the position based on capacity and/or experience.
More information on the vacancy and the fund can be found at: Hillingdon Pension Fund - Hillingdon Council
Scheme Details
Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS) - Arrears Payroll
Teachers' Compensation Pension - Arrears Payroll
Pay As You Earn (PAYE) reference: 120/FA74972
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.
Payment dates
| Month | Payment date | Month | Payment date |
|---|---|---|---|
| April | 30 April 2024 | October | 31 October 2024 |
| May | 31 May 2024 | November | 29 November 2024 |
| June | 28 June 2024 | December | 31 December 2024 |
| July | 31 July 2024 | January | 31 January 2025 |
| August | 30 August 2024 | February | 28 February 2025 |
| September | 30 September 2024 | March | 31 March 2025 |
Pensions 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 LGPS 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 dependant's pensions. - The interaction with state pension
If you reached state pension age (SPA) before 6 April 2016 the payment of your increase may be split between your LGPS 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.
Alternatively, the Pension increase indicator provides an indication of whether you a eligible for a pension increase:
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 on 30 April 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
When the LGPS changed from a final salary scheme to career average in 2014, older members approaching retirement were given protection from the changes.
In 2018 the Courts found these protections discriminated against younger scheme members. Consequently, the LGPS regulations changed from 1 October 2023 to remove the discrimination. These changes are called the McCloud Remedy.
Not all members are affected by the changes, but we will automatically contact you if you are affected. You do not need to take any action.
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 that you let us know.
You can change the address we hold for you through our 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 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.
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 of 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 (LGPS members)
We do not currently reduce LGPS pensions following re-employment within the LGPS (also known as abatement), but there are certain circumstances where re-employment may affect your benefits.
If you were awarded added years as part of a redundancy package, you must let us know if you are re-employed. These added years are governed by separate regulations which do operate abatement for the added years portion of your pension only.
If you do not have added years and your pension is currently reduced because of re-employment, please contact us as soon as possible in order for us to re-assess your benefits.
Transfers & Divorce
Please note that it is not possible 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.
Death grant (LGPS members)
A death grant may be payable if you die while receiving your pension, are under 75 and:
- left the scheme after 31 March 2008 and have been receiving your pension for less than 10 years; or
- left the scheme between 1 April 1997 and 31 March 2008 and have been receiving your pension for less than five years, or
- left the scheme before 1 April 1997, did not receive maximum commutation of your lump sum and have been receiving your pension for less than five years.
You can complete a death grant 'Expression of Wish' form to indicate where you wish any death grant to be paid. This can be to a person, persons or organisation (such as a charity). The form can be completed through our Member Portal. If you need an alternative format, then please see our website.
The main advantage of completing this form is that the payment can be made directly to your chosen beneficiary, without forming part of your Estate, so it does not count for inheritance tax purposes.
London Borough of Hillingdon, as administering authority, has absolute discretion as to the distribution of the death grant. For this reason, although the London Borough of Hillingdon will have the greatest regard to your wishes, it is not legally bound by them.
The 'Expression of Wish' form only applies to the death grant lump sum; it does not affect the payment of any pension for a spouse, partner, or dependant on your death.
Pensions payable to surviving dependants
For LGPS. If you die before your partner, they may be eligible to receive a pension. The rules for this depend on when you left the local government employment from 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 on a number of factors, including:
- when you left the scheme,
- your pensionable service,
- your marital status, and
- whether you have eligible children.
Note: if you marry after leaving pensionable membership, this may affect the amount of pension payable to your surviving partner.
You can find more information about 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.
For Teachers' Compensation Scheme, a dependant's pension is initially payable for three months at the same rate as your pension at the date of death. This is followed by a long-term pension (payable for life) at roughly half the rate of your pension in payment. This is in addition to any pension your dependant may receive from Teachers' Pensions.
Tell Us Once
We participate in the 'Tell Us Once' service that is offered when a bereavement is registered. You can find out 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:
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.