News

2023

22 February 2023   2023 Pension Increase

For the year beginning 10 April 2023 there will be an increase based on CPI as at September 2022 of up to 10.1%.

Pensions are reviewed annually in line with Treasury Orders. This review is called the annual Pension Increase (or PI).

The Treasury Order takes account of the previous September's Consumer Prices Index (CPI) figure to determine what the adjustment will be. For information, the CPI for the previous years were:

• Year beginning 11 April 2022 an increase of 3.1%
• Year beginning 12 April 2021 an increase of 0.5%

The Pensioners page on the JSS website has been updated to show the 2023 pension increase.

01 February 2023   RCPS Employee Contribution Rates for 2023-24

The RCPS Management Board have approved the RCPS employee contribution rates for 2023-24.

The changes from the current arrangement are in the first tier, where the earnings threshold increases from £23,100 to £32,000, and the second tier, which now starts from £32,001.

This will mean those members with annualised earnings below £32,000 will see a decrease in their pension contributions. This change does not affect the pension you accrue; please remember that your pension is based on your earnings, your time in the scheme and a scheme accrual rate.

Your main scheme benefits are not related to the contributions deducted. All employers and payrolls have been informed of the new rates and asked to implement them in their systems.

Employee Contribution Rates from 01 April 2023

There is more information on our Contributions page about how contributions are calculated

05 January 2023   Added Pension year end deadlines

Members in classic, classic plus, premium and nuvos have the option to top up their pension benefits by buying Added Pension.

If you are interested in making a one-off lump sum contribution into the current scheme year (2022-23), and/or setting up a monthly purchase for the next scheme year (2023-24) please read our Added Pension Reminder 2023 (PDF, 364KB) - opens in new window -.

Please note that if we don’t receive the relevant forms by the deadlines stated we will not be able to process your applications.

2022

28 November 2022   Annual Benefit Statements and information for members that have exceeded the 2021-22 Annual Allowance

Annual Benefit Statements were issued to all eligible scheme members by the end of August 2022. But, if you have not received yours please email statements@jss.ukri.org.

We have also issued Pension Saving Statements (PSS) with the Annual Benefit Statements. PSS’ are issued if you have exceeded the Annual Allowance - external link - or have requested a PSS.

Scheme members that have exceeded the Annual Allowance and have insufficient carry over of unused allowance from previous years need to take action:

• You must tell HMRC through Self Assessment - external link - that you have exceeded the Annual Allowance. The deadline to do this is normally 31 January after the last tax year end. The deadlines are on the HMRC Website - external link - and;
• Contact JSS if the tax is more than £2,000 as this could be paid through the Scheme Pays arrangement by reducing the pension scheme benefits

There is also information on the Pensions and Tax page.

03 May 2022   2022 Annual Benefit Statements

Annual Benefit Statements were issued to all eligible scheme members by the end of August 2022. If you have not received yours please email statements@jss.ukri.org.

We will provide a further update once we start issuing the statements. In the meantime we have some general information about the benefit statements on the Annual Benefit Statements page.

08 April 2022   2022 HMRC Lifetime Allowance Protection

HMRC have updated their information for Lifetime Allowance Protection. Information has been added about what to do if someone loses their protection.

The Lifetime Allowance is the maximum overall value of pension benefits (excluding state pensions) that an individual can build up over their lifetime before a tax charge is paid.

More information can be found on the GOV.UK Protect your pension lifetime allowance - external link - page.

01 April 2022   2022 JSS Customer Satisfaction Survey Results

JSS would like to thank everyone who responded to our Customer Satisfaction Survey, we are currently analysing the comments.

A short Survey Newsletter (PDF, 164KB) - opens in new window - has been produced with the highlights.

04 March 2022   Employee Contributions Rates from 1 April 2022

The employee contribution rates from 01 April 2022 have now been published and the Joining the scheme page has been updated.

The rates are not changing and the annualised earning bands will also remain the same as those for 2021-22.

31 January 2022   RCPS Reform Update - No changes in April 2022

JSS have received a few questions from RCPS members asking what is happening to their RCPS pension in April 2022. The answer is nothing.

The main public service pension schemes are implementing changes in April 2022 in order to remedy the ‘McCloud’ age discrimination issue. This issue stems from the changes that those schemes brought in during 2015 where some people were moved into a new scheme based on their age. Although the RCPS operates by-analogy to the Principal Civil Service Pension Scheme (PCSPS) the RCPS did not introduce any changes in 2015; it is not a reformed scheme and therefore is not required to move any members into a new arrangement in April 2022.

If you are an active member in the RCPS your pension will continue to accrue as is. JSS will continue to administer the scheme and continue to pay the pension benefits. Your pension arrangements will not change in April 2022.

If you have been in one of the reformed schemes and your pension is affected the scheme administrator will write to you directly.

If you have any concerns or questions about your RCPS pension, please email: reform@jss.ukri.org.

24 January 2022   2022 Pension Increase

For the year beginning 11 April 2022 there will be an increase based on CPI as at September 2021 of up to 3.1%.

Pensions are reviewed annually in line with Treasury Orders. This review is called the annual Pension Increase (or PI).

The Treasury Order takes account of the previous September's Consumer Prices Index (CPI) figure to determine what the adjustment will be, for information, the CPI for the previous years were:

• Year beginning 12 April 2021 an increase of 0.5%
• Year beginning 06 April 2020 an increase of 1.7%

The Pensioners page on the JSS website has been updated to show the 2022 pension increase.

05 January 2022   Added Pension year end deadline

Members in classic, classic plus, premium and nuvos may choose to buy added pension to top up their pension benefits.

Members interested in making a one-off lump sum contribution into the current scheme year can find more information in the Added Pension Reminder 2022 (PDF, 267KB) - opens in new window -.

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