This page aims to help you understand the content of your 2026 Deferred Annual Benefit Statement. 

It helps to explain the various sections of the statement. However, these notes cannot cover every personal circumstance and in the event of any dispute over your statement, the appropriate legislation will prevail. They do NOT confer any contractual or statutory rights and are provided for information purposes only.

If you have more than one deferred membership, you will receive an Annual Benefit Statement for each. Most membership will not be combined automatically without writing to you first. 

Your personal information

Please check that these details are correct. If they are not, then please contact the Fund on 0151 242 1396 (8am - 1pm, Monday to Friday).

Name

Please let us know if this is incorrect. We may ask to see a copy of your marriage certificate, decree absolute, or deed poll, to update our records.

NI Number

Merseyside Pension Fund uses your National Insurance (NI) number as your primary policy and reference number. You should quote your NI number whenever you contact us regarding your benefits, tax codes, or statements. Please let us know if this is incorrect. We may ask to see a copy of an official government document (e.g. P45 or P60 forms, or official letters from HMRC or the DWP) to update our records.

Date of Birth

Please let us know if this is incorrect. We may ask to see a copy of your birth certificate to update our records.

Date of leaving

These are the dates your former employer told us that you left the LGPS for this employment. If your date of leaving is after 31 March 2014, the date that your benefits will be payable unreduced will be age 65 or your State Pension age, whichever is the later, unless you are protected under the 85-year rule. Please note this may change as and when the Government changes State Pension Age.

Date Benefits payable from

This is the date when your deferred benefits become payable to you without actuarial reduction. If your benefits are brought into payment before your Normal Pension Age (NPA) they will be reduced for early payment.

Your Deferred Pensioner Benefit Details with effect from 6 April 2026

Current value of annual pension

This is the current value of your deferred annual pension at 6 April 2026. It shows the annual pension and includes the total of annual cost of living increases since you left the LGPS.

How your deferred benefits are calculated:

If you left the LGPS before 1 April 2014, your Final Salary benefits will have been based on your membership to the date of leaving and your full time equivalent final pay. Your annual pension will have been calculated as:

• 1/80th x your membership to 31 March 2008 (if applicable) x your final pay; plus 
• 1/60th x your membership from 1 April 2008 to 31 March 2014 (if applicable) x your final pay.

If you left after 31 March 2014, your Career Average Revalued Earnings (CARE) benefits for the period from 1 April 2014 to your date of leaving will be calculated as:

• 1/49th (or 1/98th if in the 50/50 section) x the CARE pensionable pay received during this period.

If you paid Additional Pension Contributions (APC)/Shared-Cost APC/Additional Regular Contributions (ARC) or if you purchased Added Years, the proportionate value of your contract has been included in your benefits.

If you made Additional Voluntary Contributions (AVC), you will receive a separate statement from the AVC provider.

Current value of automatic lump sum

For membership before 1 April 2008, you will automatically receive a lump sum based on three times your 80ths pension. However, if you joined after 1 April 2008, you won’t receive an automatic tax-free lump sum, but you will have the option to give up some of your pension for tax-free cash when you retire.

This is the current value of your automatic lump sum at 6 April 2026. It also includes the total of annual cost of living increases since you left the LGPS.

Survivors pension

This is the current value of a survivor’s pension at 6 April 2026. A survivor's pension will be payable if, when you die, you are married/have a civil partner or eligible cohabiting partner. 

A value is quoted irrespective of your current relationship status. If you die as deferred member, the payment of any survivor’s pension will be determined by your circumstances at your date of death and the eligibility of any dependents at that time.

You can read more about death benefits in the LGPS here.

Current value of Death Grant

This is the current value of the death grant at 6 April 2026.

The amount of death grant lump sum payable will depend on the date when you left active membership of the LGPS:

• 5 times your deferred annual pension will be payable if you left the LGPS on or after 1 April 2008, or
• 3 times your deferred annual pension if you left the LGPS before 1 April 2008.

However, if when you die, you also have a current active LGPS membership, only one death grant is payable. This will be the higher of 3 or 5 times your deferred annual pension or 3 times your annual pensionable pay in your active employment.

Normally, we will pay the death grant lump sum in line with your nomination(s) made in your expression of wish, although the Fund has overall discretion over who will receive the payment. 

If you haven’t made your expression of wish nomination or want to update or change the one currently in place, please do so in the 'Manage beneficiaries' section of your secure online MyPension account, or alternatively download, complete and return the paper form below.

Your Membership Details

This section shows your periods of membership built up in the LGPS that make up your deferred pension. If you had a transfer in of membership, it will be shown in this section.