Employer discretions

Under the Local Government Pension Scheme Regulations employers are required to formulate, publish and keep under review a policy statement in relation to the exercise of a number of discretions under the LGPS.


The following list shows the employer discretions subject to a written policy under the Local Government Pension Scheme (Benefit, Membership and Contributions Regulations) 2007 ("the Benefit Regulations"):

Employer Discretion Details
Employer DiscretionRegulation
Whether to augment membership of an active member (by up to 10 years)B12
Whether to grant additional pensions to a member (by up to £5,000 per annum)B13
Whether all or some benefits can be paid if an employee reduces their hours or grade (flexible retirement)B18(1)
Whether to waive, in whole or in part, actuarial reduction on benefits paid on flexible retirementB18(3)
Whether to grant application for early payment of benefits on or after age 55 and before age 60B30(2)
Whether to waive, on compassionate grounds, the actuarial reduction applied to benefits paid earlyB30(5)

A copy of the employer's published policy statement must be sent to us.

If the employer decides to amend the policy they must send a copy of the new policy to us within a month of deciding on the amendment.

Also on our website

How useful did you find this page?

Not useful

Very useful