How is my pension calculated?

Information and guidance about how your pension is calculated.

Lump sum retirement grant

Under the LGPS 2014 scheme you can exchange some of your annual pension into additional tax-free cash. For every £1 of pension you give up you will receive £12 of tax-free cash (subject to HM Revenue and Customs limits).

A lump sum calculator is available to find out the maximum tax-free cash you could take in retirement. You can also find out this value by using the voluntary retirement calculator on your online 'Engage' pension account. 

If you have LGPS membership prior to 1 April 2008 you will have built up an automatic tax-free lump sum which will become payable at the point you retire.

Lump Sum Allowance (LSA)

The Government introduced a Lump Sum Allowance (LSA) from April 2024 which limits the amount of tax-free cash you can take from all registered UK pension schemes in your lifetime. The Lump Sum Allowance is currently set at £268,275 – if this limit is exceeded the excess amount is no longer tax-free.