Notes for your annual benefit statement 2021

Coronavirus (Covid-19)

Throughout the pandemic the Tyne and Wear Pension Fund has continued to provide a service and administer the Scheme. Whilst most of our staff are still working from home, we can assure members that service delivery will continue.

McCloud Judgment update

When the Government reformed public service pension schemes in 2014 and 2015, they introduced protections for older members. In December 2018, the Court of Appeal ruled that younger members of the Judges' and Firefighters' Pension schemes have been discriminated against because the protections do not apply to them. This is known as the McCloud Judgment.

As a result of this court ruling, the Government has confirmed that there will be changes to all main public sector schemes, including the LGPS, to remove this age discrimination.

A consultation which outlined the proposed changes to the benefits of the LGPS was launched on 16 July 2020 and ended on 8 October 2020. On 13 May 2021, the Government issued a statement confirming the key changes they will make to the LGPS to remove the age discrimination which you can find at GOV.UK: Local Government Pension Scheme - amendments to the statutory underpin. 

However, it is important to note that you do not need to do anything or register a claim. If you are in scope of the changes and your benefits have been affected, then we will contact you directly. Despite this, we are aware that some companies are actively encouraging members of the LGPS to lodge costly claims. Please ensure you are not persuaded to do this.

Further information on the McCloud judgment and remedy can be found at: -

  • www.twpf.info/McCloud
  • www.lgpsmember.org/news/story/mccloud_qanda.php .

Please note the enclosed Statement does not include any adjustment for McCloud.

Merger

Following on from a successful shared service arrangement, Northumberland County Council Pension Fund merged into the Tyne and Wear Pension Fund with effect from 1 April 2020. All the member records were moved into the Tyne and Wear Pension Fund and we are pleased to say this had no impact on our members or service delivery.

Information on the Fund

Our annual reports include concise information about the Fund in general and how we have performed during the year. These are available on our website at www.twpf.info/article/11976/Full-Annual-Reports-and-Accounts. The Fund's Annual Report and Accounts for 2020/21 will be published on our website later this year after the completion of the year end accounts.

Contacting us

Securely Online via mypension

This is our preferred method of communicating and we encourage you to use this which allows you to:

  • Raise a query and receive a response
  • View your membership record
  • Carry out what if calculations to estimate the value of your benefits and plan your payment/retirement date
  • Update your personal details and contact details
  • View your annual benefit Statements
  • Upload documents to your account.

This is the quickest way to communicate with us and if you have not already activated your account please do so through our mypension section .

Please note that members who were formerly in the Northumberland County Council Pension Fund, will still access their mypension accounts in the usual way. If you have records within both Funds, once the work has been completed to move the records to Tyne and Wear Pension Fund you will be able to see all of your records in one place. Until all of the work has been carried out your mypension account will still show as Northumberland County Council Pension Fund.

Our Website-  www.twpf.info

This contains lots of useful information about the Fund and the Scheme Rules and links to other useful websites.

Our offices

The postal address is Pensions Office, PO Box 212, South Shields, NE33 9ER. If you are sending us recorded mail please use the full address which is Pensions Office, Town Hall and Civic Offices, Westoe Road, South Shields, Tyne and Wear, NE33 2RL.

Our information can be produced in other ways on request. Please let us know if we can help in any way.

Please keep in touch

It is important that you keep us up to date with all your contact details (even if you use our online service). The quickest way to do this is by using the 'Change My Address' option on your mypension account. Please activate your account if you have not already done so.

Your State Pension

Further information on this can be found at  GOV.UK: New state pension.

Death Grants and Nomination Forms

If you die before your 75th birthday a death grant may be payable. The rules on death grants are complex. Further information can be found on our website.

If a death grant is payable, it will generally be paid to either:

  • The person(s) named on your Death Grant Nomination Form
  • Your estate, if you have not completed a Death Grant Nomination Form.

However, the Fund may have to take any financial dependents into account when deciding who should receive the death grant. If you are under age 75, and have not already done so, you can complete a Death Grant Nomination Form to let us know your wishes - please remember it is your responsibility to keep your Nomination Form up to date if your circumstances change or you wish to amend your nomination.

The Fund can choose to make payment to another person, for example if your Form appears invalid.

To make a Death Grant Nomination or update your nomination, please do so through your mypension account.

Information on the Fund

More information on the Fund will be available in the Annual Report and Accounts for 2019/20 which will be published on our website after the completion of the year end accounts. You can request a copy of the Annual Report and Accounts if you do not have access to the internet.

Privacy Notices - How we use Your Personal Information

South Tyneside Council holds information for the Tyne and Wear Pension Fund about you that is used for pension processing. Your information is treated as confidential; however, it may be shared with other organisations for the processing of benefits and, if we are required to by law, for the detection and prevention of fraud.

If you would like to know more about what information we hold about you, or the way we use it please write to the Pensions Office, PO Box 212, South Shields, NE33 9ER or view our website on our Privacy Notices page.