If you wish to investigate the possibility of a transfer
- you must request to do so within 12 months of joining the scheme
You are able to:
- Transfer previous Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS) benefits
- Transfer from a pension you had with a previous job
- Transfer from a personal or stakeholder pension
- Transfer Additional Voluntary Contributions (AVCs)
Any pension benefits which you have previously built up in another pension arrangement can generally be transferred into your Cornwall Pension Fund.
For information on previous Cornwall Pension Fund service please view combining previous Cornwall Pension Fund benefits below.
There are some restrictions on transfers, please view the who can not transfer? information below, which outlines circumstances when it is not possible to transfer.
If you have been in the scheme for less than 12 months and wish to look into the possibility of a transfer:
- please complete a pension history form.
We will also send you this form to provide us with all the relevant information. This will be done once your membership of the scheme has been confirmed to us by your employer.
Complete and return the pension history form to the Fund. The form requests us to investigate a transfer. This does not yet commit you to the transfer.
We will then request details from your previous pension provider.
Once we have received the required details we will:
- provide you with a transfer value, which will show you the amount of extra pension that could be added to your pension account in the Cornwall Pension Fund.
Once you have seen the figures, you can decide whether you want to go ahead with the transfer, or whether you wish to leave your benefits where they are.
They cannot be transferred:
- If you have been a member of the Cornwall Pension Fund for over 12 months (in your current employment)
- If you have previously elected to leave your benefits separate, you will not be given the option to transfer again
- It is not possible to transfer benefits which you have been awarded from a pension sharing order on divorce
There are many factors to consider when deciding whether to transfer in your previous pension benefits. It is not always beneficial to transfer.
The calculations we provide will:
-
detail the amount which would be added to your benefits in the Cornwall Pension Fund
This should help you to make your decision.
You will be asked to complete a form to say whether you wish to go ahead with the transfer or not. At this stage you may wish to consult an Independent Financial Advisor (IFA), as we are not registered to give financial advice.
If you have preserved benefits within the Cornwall Pension Fund and have rejoined the scheme:
- you may have the option to combine your benefits.
You must elect to combine the benefits within 12 months of rejoining the scheme in your new employment.
Process
The process for combining pension accounts is like to the transfer process. We will need you to complete a pension history form if you wish to look at combining benefits.
Keeping your benefits separate
If you decide to keep your benefits separate and you are made redundant or lose your job for business efficiency reasons (when aged 55 or over):
-
your benefits would be payable immediately.
But, this would not include the value of your deferred benefit. This is because you had decided to keep that as a separate deferred benefit.
Benefits paid early because of keeping your benefits separate:
- would not include the value of earlier deferred benefits.
The separate deferred benefits would be payable at your Normal Pension Age or earlier, subject to any reduction for early payment
Combining your benefits
If you decide to combine your benefits and you are made redundant or lose your job for business efficiency reasons when aged 55 or over then:
- your benefits would be payable immediately and would include the value of the pension that transferred from your deferred benefit.
Benefits paid early because of redundancy or efficiency would include the value of earlier deferred benefits that have been transferred.
