Category
Author: James Heppe-Smith
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What ‘membership’ means in the LGPS, and why the word changed
What LGPS membership means has changed three times since 1986. What each version meant, why part-time work counts differently depending on which question you are asking, and where the old words still surface.
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Breaks in your LGPS membership: the five year rule that decides your final salary link
Leave the LGPS and come back, and one number decides what your pre-2014 pension is worth: five years. What counts as a break in membership, why NHS and teaching years are not a gap, and…
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NHS McCloud statements: the backlog has grown every month since May 2026
NHSBSA sent a record 3,097 McCloud statements in June 2026 and the queue still got longer. What the published data actually shows, and what it means if you are waiting for yours.
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NHS partial retirement: how to take your pension and keep working
NHS partial retirement lets you take between 20% and 100% of your pension while continuing to work and build further benefits. It comes with a condition most people do not expect: you have to cut…
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What does Local Government Reorganisation mean for your LGPS pension?
Councils are being merged into larger new unitary authorities. Here is what Local Government Reorganisation does, and does not, change for your LGPS pension, and what to do.
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The Armed Forces pension report for 2025/26: what it actually tells members
The Ministry of Defence’s Armed Forces Pension Scheme report for 2025/26 shows delayed McCloud statements, records that had been missed, and 17,018 unclaimed pensions. Here is what it means, and how to claim.
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Civil Service pension death benefits: how to claim, and why families are still waiting
Capita is waiting on paperwork from 3,099 bereaved families. Which of the two claim forms applies, what documents each one needs, how long a claim should take, and what exists if it stalls.
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Is the LGPS in surplus? What 122% funding means for your pension
The 2025 LGPS valuations put the England and Wales scheme at 122% funded, with a £72.9 billion surplus. Here is what that means for your pension, and what it does not.
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LGPS early retirement got more expensive on 1 August 2026: the new reduction factors
New LGPS early retirement factors apply for retirements dated 1 August 2026 or later. The published before and after percentages, what they cost in pounds, and why the only date that counts is the date…
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Told to repay your Armed Forces pension? What the MoD overpayment recovery means for you
This article explains the Armed Forces pension overpayment recovery: why some pensioners are being asked to repay money they were paid in error, what the rules actually say about recovering it, and the routes open…