Category
Category: Pension Basics
Foundational explainers: how UK public sector pensions actually work.
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Teachers’ Pension death benefits: how to claim now the online route has gone
If a teacher in your family has died, you are not reading this for background. Either a form has arrived and it runs to six pages, or you have been told to send one and…
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Who to ask about a public service pension problem, and what it costs
Every pension site says speak to a regulated adviser, and almost none say what that costs or how to find one. Worse, for plenty of public sector pension problems an adviser is the wrong person…
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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 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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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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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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The public sector pension bill hit £56bn: what the number really means
Public sector pensions cost a record £56 billion in 2025/26. Here is what that gross figure includes, why unfunded does not mean a deficit, and what the OBR actually projects.
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Teachers’ Pension contributions 2026/27: the six-tier table explained
The 2026/27 Teachers’ Pension contribution tiers, from 7.4% to 12.0%, what changed this April, and a calculator for what you and your employer each pay.