Published
29th May 2019
Some important changes to the Scheme come into force on 28th June 2019. Most of the changes are backdated to 1st June 2018, the date on which the most recent version of the Scheme – the Local Government Pension Scheme (Scotland) 2018 – first came into effect.
The Key Changes
• Member contributions cannot be made on or after the day prior to a
member’s 75th birthday.
• Where a member is on authorised leave for a continuous period of less than
31 days (other than through illness or injury) and has reduced pay or nil pay,
then on their return they must pay their member contributions based on
the pay they would have received but for the absence.
• All deferred members who have attained age 55 can elect to have their
benefits paid out with immediate effect provided they are no longer in the
employment which gave rise to the benefit. An individual with deferred
benefits but now in a different local government employment would be
able to access their benefits). Benefits taken prior to the normal scheme
pension age will be subject to an early payment reduction.
• If a member retires on ill health grounds and prior to being retired has
suffered a drop in pay from having worked reduced hours due to illness,
then in calculating scheme benefits, no account is to be taken of the
reduction in pay. This provision is effective from 1st April 2015.
• One of the conditions for paying a pension to a surviving partner has been
relaxed. Previously, at the time of his/her death, a member had to have
been legally free to marry/form a civil partnership for a period of at least 2
years. Now, the member only needs to have been free to marry/form a civil
partnership at the time of his/her death. Other conditions however
continue to apply (e.g. the member and partner must have been living
together as a married couple/civil partners for at least 2 years and have
been financially interdependent or the partner dependant on the member).
The full list of changes are contained in the Local Government Pension Scheme
(Miscellaneous Amendments) (Scotland) Regulations 2019 (S.S.I. 2019/161)
This update is for information purposes only and does not
override the statutory terms of the Scheme regulations.
