In the first part of our campaign for this year’s EAPF Pension Awareness week – our goal is to ensure you have what you need to look ahead with confidence to your financial future.
We’ve got some really great videos, tips and tools in this first part of our series that won't disappoint!
Financial 'MOT'
We often hear comments from members that they ‘wish they’d tuned in earlier’, or ‘wish they knew’ about some of the options to top up their pension when they were younger. It’s never too early or too late to tune in. But ‘it’s so complicated’ is often the myth that’s off-putting - and we’re here to dispel that (well as much as we can!)…
We’re calling this an MOT – something that’s often a little worrying in case anything comes as a surprise – but it’s necessary to keep everything in check. So, what do you need to think about for this type of MOT?
- Firstly, your latest annual pension statement has been online for you since the end of August. Whether or not you’ve had the chance to have a look – this would be a starting point.
- Have a think about what lifestyle you hope for when you get to that stage.
- Consider what your outgoings look like now, and what might they look like when you get there? E.g. will you no longer have mortgage or loan repayments?
- Also consider what income you will need to live on comfortably at your retirement?
- When you’ve thought about this, have a look at our Budget Planner alongside your annual pension statement.
- When you’ve entered your estimated monthly spending into the Budget Planner, you can enter your estimated EAPF pension and any other income. The Planner will also include your state pension but you'll need to enter your current estimated amount. You can visit https://www.gov.uk/check-state-pension to find out what your current forecast is.
- The Planner will then tell you what your income needs to be to achieve the lifestyle you’re looking for in retirement.
But what can I do if this isn’t enough?
As a member of the Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS) there are two options you can use to top up your EAPF benefits. These options are very different from one another and choosing what’s right for you is really a personal thing.
Firstly, you can pay Additional Pension Contributions (APCs) – in a nutshell, this is the purchase of an amount of additional annual pension from the EAPF. It links to your normal pension age in the same way your standard EAPF pension does, meaning the amount you’re buying would be subject to the same reduction as your EAPF pension if you draw it earlier than your normal pension age. You can use the LGPS calculator to work out what it costs you to do this. It’s important to note that your employer would not contribute towards this arrangement.
With an APC – there is no flexibility once they are set up. It’s an agreement to pay a certain amount over a set period – but you can stop payments at any point and simply be credited with the pension that you’ve paid for. However, if wanted to restart the arrangement or change the additional pension amount, you would have to reset up a new arrangement. In addition, the costs are age related, which would mean starting a new one after your next birthday would make it more expensive to buy each £1 of pension.
The other option is Additional Voluntary Contributions (AVC). These are investment related contributions where you can choose from several investment options according to your attitude to risk and the type of fund you prefer to invest in. It’s not possible to pay a large lump sum into an AVC, unless your monthly salary payment covers the amount. However, AVC’s are more flexible than APCs in terms of having the option to change the amount you pay each month.
There's lots of information in the topping up my LGPS pension factsheet, which also includes the process to follow to set up either option. Read our Topping up my LGPS pension factsheet.
Pension Awareness Campaigns
It’s national ‘Pension Awareness Week’, and the campaigners have some fabulous material for you to enjoy.
The ‘Pension Attention’ campaigners have appointed The Only Way is Essex’s star Gemma Collins – ‘the GC’ to tell you all about ‘paying your pension some attention’ with some tips on what you should be thinking of to become confident for your financial future.
This is not to be missed – see how she brings it all to life in her own special way by watching the video below!
Watch the 'Pay Your Pension Some Attention' video with Gemma Collins on YouTube.
There are 3 more videos you can watch about 3 simple steps on planning for your future.
Don’t worry if you don’t manage to join them live, as they are all being recorded and will be on their website shortly after. You can register to join them below.
Please note – whilst most of the advice is useful, the videos are aimed at members of ‘Defined Contributions’ schemes (not Defined Benefit like the EAPF). So, some of the advice about asking your employer for a ‘pension pay boost’ or where your pension is invested in order to potentially get more out of this – is not relevant to the type of scheme the EAPF is.
Nevertheless, we’re sure you’ll find the sentiment of the tips useful in these videos and will enjoy watching!
The full campaign can be found at pensionattention.co.uk
Step 1 Find your lost pensions with Gemma Collins and Iona Bain - YouTube
Step 2 Log in to your pension accounts with Gemma Collins and Iona Bain - YouTube
Step 3 Picture your retirement with Gemma Collins and Iona Bain - YouTube
Separately, The Pension Awareness Week campaigners have organised some live shows too. This year they’re covering lots of interesting topics, such as:
- Is it a good idea to transfer my pension?
- Financial wellbeing – the balance between money and mindset
- Retirement reality check – how to have the lifestyle you want in retirement
- How to get ready for the retirement you want
- Pensions investments explained
- How to shrink the gender pension gap
- Pension Geeks for HR/Managers only
- DB or not DB?
Don’t worry if you can’t join them live, they’re all being recorded and will be on their website shortly after. You can register to join them below.
Again, please remember these are not EAPF specific, as our webinars will be run separately by EAPF officers and supported by Capita, our appointed administrator. Watch out for the booking information for our webinars in part 3 of this week's campaign.
Sign up for live shows at pensionawarenessday.com/live-shows
Automatic Re-enrolment in March 2025
The government introduced legislation in 2012/13 to ensure individuals have another source of income when they retire, in addition to their state pension. Since 2013, employers have been required to automatically enrol their employees into a qualifying workplace pension scheme, such as the LGPS, if they are not already in one. Thereafter, employers have had to re-enrol employees who decide to opt out of the pension scheme every 3 years. The next re-enrolment date for the Environment Agency is 1 March 2025, and work is already underway to ensure compliance. (The re-enrolment date for NRW employees isn’t until 1 July 2026 – so this isn’t happening just yet if this affects you).
If you’re an Environment Agency employee and currently a member of the 50:50 section or if you opted out of the EAPF, you will be automatically re-enrolled into the main section on 1 March 2025. However, you can opt out or move back to the 50:50 section again at that point if you wish. Look out for some information from the Environment Agency in early 2025 if this affects you.
Pensions Dashboard Programme (PDP)
Pensions Dashboard is a national initiative being driven and implemented by the UK government. It will enable individuals to access their pensions information online, securely and all in one place.
This secure portal will give all individuals access to view a ‘Pension Dashboard’ with clear information about their various pension savings, including their State Pension. This means they’ll perhaps discover some pension benefits that they may have forgotten about, which is a fantastic step forward for both members and the pension funds who have lost touch.
It’s a big and complex project to get all pension funds connected to the Dashboard with all their member data loaded. The EAPF have been working closely with Capita from the early stages and we’re in a very strong position in terms of being ready to connect. However, there’s still some time before the portal becomes ‘live’ to the public. There is no confirmed ‘live’ date at the moment, but all public service pension schemes are required to connect by October 2025, so we don’t anticipate the portal will be live to members until sometime in 2026. We’ll keep you posted as we learn more.
Read Part 2 of our Pension Awareness Week campaign.
Read Part 3 of our Pension Awareness Week campaign.