When you can retire

Your LGPS pension is payable without reductions when you reach your Normal Pension Age. Since 1 April 2014, for most people, this will be the same as State Pension age, however, you can check your Normal Pension Age by viewing your annual benefit statement.

However, you don’t have to wait until your Normal Pension Age to take your pension.

If you are currently paying in, you can choose to retire and take your pension from any age between 55 and 75:

• if you take your pension earlier than Normal Pension Age, there will be reductions for Early retirement
• if you take your pension later than your Normal Pension Age, there will be increases for Late retirement

Find out more about how to put your pension into payment.

You can have your pension paid to you at any age if you can no longer do your job due to ill-health

You cannot take your pension unless you leave your LGPS employment, except if you:

• take flexible retirement
• have reached age 75

If you have a pension that you no longer pay into (deferred pension), you can choose to release this while continuing to pay into your active LGPS pension account. You would need to provide 3 months’ notice to do so.

Find out more about the process for releasing a deferred pension.

If you have a pension that you no longer pay into because you opted out and you are still working in the same employment linked to that deferred pension, you will need to leave your job before you can put this pension into payment.

You can use My Pension Online to get an estimate of the pension payable if you voluntarily choose to take your pension.

If you are close to retirement, we recommend you request an estimate from us. We can supply you with up to 2 estimates in any rolling 12-month period.

Usually, if you want to take your pension, you will need to have left your LGPS employment. However, if your employer agrees, you could take flexible retirement (also known as a phased retirement).

If you take flexible retirement:

• you will need to agree to reduce either your grade or hours
• you can have your pension benefits paid to you from the date you either reduced your hours or grade
• early retirement reductions will apply if you take your pension before your Normal Pension Age
• if you take flexible retirement before age 60 and you have 85 year rule protection, this would automatically be switched on, the cost of which your employer would need to meet
• you can choose to continue paying towards a new LGPS account in your new role
• if you pay towards AVCs and your plan started before 13 November 2001, you will have to use your entire AVC plan when you flexibly retire

We are unable to provide you with an estimate for flexible retirement. However, if you are taking flexible retirement and you would like to know how much pension would be payable, you can contact your employer.

We are not involved in the flexible retirement application process. To apply you should contact your employer.

Granting flexible retirement is at the sole discretion of your employer. In doing so, they may consider business need and their flexible retirement policy which all employers are required to have.

If you over age 55 or over and you leave your LGPS employment due to redundancy or business efficiency, special rules will apply:

• your pension will be put into payment from your last day of service- you will not be able to defer payment
• even if you have not yet reached Normal Pension Age, early retirement reductions will not apply- your pension will be paid at the value on your last day of service
• If you have a pension that you no longer pay into (deferred pension), this will not automatically be paid to you. You can choose to release this, but you must provide 3 months’ notice to us. Early retirement reductions will apply if you are taking this before Normal Pension Age

We are unable to provide you with an estimate for redundancy retirement. However, if you are being made redundant and you would like to know how much pension would be payable, your employer can obtain this on your behalf.

The Government has announced that the earliest age you can take your pension will increase from age 55 to 57 from 6 April 2028 (this does not apply if you have to take your pension early due to ill health).

You could be protected from this increase if you joined the LGPS before 4 November 2021. You could also be protected if you transfer or transferred a previous pension into the LGPS and certain conditions were met. The Government has yet to confirm that this protection will apply.

We will keep you informed of changed in our annual newsletter and via our latest news webpage.