Members who left before the 1st April 1998
Members aged 55 and over:
Regulations have been changed from 10 January 2019, effective from 17 April 2018 which allows deferred members who are aged 55 and over to claim the early payment of their deferred benefits.
Deferred members (who opted out) do not have to have ceased to be employed in local government employment to request early payment of their deferred benefits, if they have ceased the local government employment that gave rise to the deferred benefit then the deferred benefit can be paid.
Early retirement reductions will normally apply, since the member would be choosing to draw their benefits before their NPA (Normal Pension Age) - in most cases this is 60. If a member wishes to enquire about early payment (from age 55 onwards) of their deferred benefits they should contact: PensionFundEnquiries@wolverhampton.gov.uk. The Fund will then provide details of benefits payable including any reductions, should they wish to draw them (there should not be an Early Retirement cost payable by the former employer in these circumstances).
The early reduction factors are set by the Government and can vary from time to time. The current factors can be found on the national LGPS member website - www.lgpsmember.org/more/reductions.php.
NB:
For Deferred members who left the scheme before the 1st April 1998, if they wish to apply to their former employer for their benefits to paid on 'Compassionate Grounds' (Unreduced - at a cost to their former employer) they should in the first instance contact their former employer (stating the reason for payment on compassionate Grounds) who will then contact the Fund to assess any potential cost to the employer.
The Fund will then calculate the Early Retirement Costs (ERC) payable by the former employer based on the requested date. The Fund aims to provide this information within ten working days of receipt of this request. The employer should have a discretion policy for payment of deferred benefits for pre 01/04/1998 leavers on compassionate grounds.
The City of Wolverhampton Council is a data controller under the Data Protection Act 2018, for more information on how the Council manages your personal data, please visit: www.wmpfonline.com/informationgovernance.
