Receiving a pension

When will you receive payslips in the post?

We will send a payslip to you in time for your first pension payment. After that, we will only send a payslip in the post if:

• you receive your pension quarterly/annually
• if you are paid monthly and your payment changes by £10 compared to the previous payment (usually as a result of a tax coding change)
• you are issued with a P60

Any returned post received by the Fund will result in the suspension of your pension payments until we have been informed of your new address,  so please ensure that you inform us of any address changes as soon as possible.

You can access all of your payslips by accessing your Pensions Portal account.

When will you receive your P60 in the post?

We will send a P60 to you at the end of each tax year, showing you the amount of pension paid and tax deducted during the year. If you are an annually or quarterly paid member, you will receive your P60 with your March payslip. If you are paid monthly, you will receive your P60 with your April payslip.

This is an important document and we no longer produce copies, so please do not throw this away.

Any returned post received by the Fund will result in the suspension of your pension payments until we have been informed of your new address,  so please ensure that you inform us of any address changes as soon as possible.

You can download copies of your P60s by accessing your Pensions Portal account.

Need help understanding your payslip or P60?

For a guided tour of these important documents, please view the 'Payslip and P60 explained' document in the Downloads section.

Our scheduled pension payment dates are listed below:

• 25 April 2024 – Monthly paid pensions
• 24 May 2024 – Monthly paid pensions
• 25 June 2024 – Monthly and quarterly paid pensions
• 25 July 2024 – Monthly paid pensions
• 23 August 2024 – Monthly paid pensions
• 25 September 2024 – Monthly and quarterly paid pensions
• 25 October 2024 – Monthly paid pensions
• 25 November 2024 – Monthly paid pensions
• 16 December 2024 – Monthly and quarterly paid pensions (paid early)
• 24 January 2025 – Monthly paid pensions
• 25 February 2025 – Monthly paid pensions
• 25 March 2025 – Monthly, quarterly and annually paid pensions

If you change your bank account, please remember to keep the previous account open until your account details have been updated with us.

Your LGPS pension is a taxable income, but any lump sum is paid tax free. The amount of tax that you pay on your pension depends on your income and your personal circumstances.

Your first pension payment will be subject to a 0T tax code unless we have received a P45 with your forms, this means that you will be taxed at 20% or 40% dependent on the gross amount paid.  The HM Revenue and Customs Tax Office will then determine your tax code and send details to us electronically,  which will then generate a tax refund if applicable on the next payment made to you.

HMRC can instruct us to update your tax code throughout the year which may result in a refund of tax paid or any arrears of tax due being collected. 

West Midlands Pension Fund cannot amend your tax code without instructions from HMRC and cannot contact the tax office on your behalf.

You can check your current tax code by accessing your pension payslip on the Pensions Portal.

If you want to query the tax code that has been applied to your pension, please contact HMRC using the following contact details quoting tax reference 068/W105:

• Telephone queries: 0300 200 3300
• Written tax queries: PAYE & Self-Assessment, HM Revenue & Customs, BX9 1AS

What is pension increase?

One of the benefits of your LGPS pension is that it will be increased in line with the cost of living (Consumer Price Index).

You will usually receive this increase if:

• you are receiving a pension and you are over 55
• you retired because of ill-health, or
• you receive a spouse's, partner's or child's pension

When is pension increase confirmed?

The Government issues a Pensions Increase Review Order that notifies us of the annual increase to pensions,  usually around March each year.

We will update this page on an annual basis, once an updated Pensions Increase Review Order has been published. We will also provide written notice of any changes to Pensions Increase within your Pensioner Newsletter.

If you built up any pension in the LGPS before 1 April 2014, take payment of your pension and then return to work in Local Government, or with an employer who offers membership of the LGPS, you must tell us about your new job. You must do this whether or not you join the LGPS in your new job. We will then let you know whether your pension in payment is affected in any way.

If you have only built up pension in the LGPS from 1 April 2014, take payment of your pension and then return to work in local government, or with an employer who offers membership of the LGPS, you do NOT need to inform us about your new job. There will be no affect on your pension in payment, unless you are in receipt of a tier 3 ill health pension benefit (see the next paragraph).

If you are being paid a tier 3 ill-health pension (which is of the type that is stopped if you take up any gainful employment), your pension may be affected if you return to work. Therefore, you must inform the employer who awarded you the ill-health pension if you take up employment (whether in local government or elsewhere). They will let you know whether the payment of your pension should be stopped.

If you have flexibly retired your pension will not be subject to reduction or suspension whilst you continue to work for the employer that allowed you to take flexible retirement. However, if you leave that employer and then return to work in local government, or with an employer who offers membership of the LGPS, and part of your pension in payment is in respect of pension you built up prior to 1 April 2014, you must tell us about your new job. You must do this whether or not you join the LGPS in your new job. We will then let you know whether your pension in payment is affected in any way.

The LGPS provides valuable life cover and financial protection for your family. This section looks at the benefits that would be payable if you were to die after you have retired and are receiving payment of your pension.

If you die after you have retired, payment of your pension benefits will stop. Your spouse, civil partner, eligible cohabiting partner, next-of-kin or person dealing with your estate should inform us of your date of death as soon as possible to avoid your pension being overpaid.

The benefits that may be payable depend on when you left the LGPS and are set out below:

Lump sum death grant

If you left the LGPS on or after 1 April 2008

A lump sum death grant will be paid if you die and less than 10 years pension has been paid and you are under age 75 at the date of death. The amount payable would be:

• 10 times the level of your annual pension in respect of your membership of the scheme after 31 March 2014 (before giving up any pension for a tax free cash lump sum), less any pension already paid to you in respect of your post 31 March 2014 membership and the amount of any tax-free cash lump sum you chose to take by giving up some of the pension you built up after 31 March 2014 when you drew your pension at retirement, plus
• 10 times the level of your annual pension in respect of your membership of the scheme before 1 April 2014 (after giving up any pension for a tax free cash lump sum), less any pension already paid to you in respect of your pre 1 April 2014 membership.

If you left the LGPS between 1 April 1998 - 31 March 2008

A lump sum death grant will be paid if you die and less than 5 years pension has been paid and you are under age 75 at the age of death. The amount payable would be:

• 5 times the level of your annual pension in respect of your membership in the scheme (after giving up any pension for a tax free cash lump), less any pension already paid to you.

If you left the LGPS before 1 April 1998

The calculation of the death grant depends on whether you have more than, or less than, 10 years service that counts towards the calculation of your pension benefits. The calculation is complex and you can ask us for an estimate of the amount that may be payable, if applicable.

However, if you are drawing a pension and you are also an active member of the LGPS when you die, the death grant payable is the higher of:

• the amount as calculated above, or
• three times your assumed pensionable pay in your active employment

Survivor benefits

An ongoing pension is provided for your spouse, registered civil partner or, subject to certain qualifying conditions, your eligible cohabiting partner (if you were a member of the LGPS on or after 1 April 2008) and to your eligible children.

Please click the links below for more information:

• Who is the death grant paid to?
• How is a partner's pension worked out? (already retired)
• How is a child's pension worked out? (already retired)
• What is an eligible child? (already retired)
• What is an eligible co-habiting partner? (already retired)
• Dealing with financial affairs following a bereavement

The Fund undertakes an annual certification process for overseas Pensioners in partnership with Target. Target is a third-party organization who trace and verify scheme members on our behalf, helping to ensure pension scheme data is correct and up-to-date.

Where a member doesn't respond to the annual certification request, the pension will be suspended until verification of the scheme member has been completed.

This is to ensure all pension payments are accurate, however please be assured we will not suspend your pension without reasonable justification.  

This arrangement is fully compliant with the latest data protection legislation, and you can access more information on how we use member data on our Privacy Notice.

If you would like more information on Target, please feel free to engage via the telephone on +44 (0)1243 608 635 or via their webchat.

The Fund participates in the Cabinet Office's anti-fraud initiative, known as the National Fraud Initiative. For this initiative, the Fund provide details of pensioners and beneficiaries so that they can be compared to information provided by other public bodies.

This will ensure that no pensions are being paid to persons who are deceased or no longer entitled, and that occupational pension income is being declared when housing benefit is applied for.

The details of any local government pensioners who have taken up re-employment are also reported; therefore, it is important that you inform the Fund of any re-employment in local government. The Fund may share information provided to us with other bodies responsible for auditing or administering public funds in order to prevent and detect fraud.

For more information on how the Fund uses your personal data, please see our Privacy Notice.