Pensioners

Welcome to the Pensioners section of the website.

If you have any queries, please contact Pensioner Services.

Pension Increases

Pension Payments: Like all public sector pension schemes your pension is reviewed each year in line with the cost of living.

In 2010 the Government changed the indexation measure used for public service pension increases from the Retail Price Index (RPI) to the Consumer Price Index (CPI).

For the year beginning 8 April 2024 there is an increase based on CPI as at September 2023 of up to 6.7%.

The previous years were:

• Year beginning 10 April 2023 an increase of 10.1%
• Year beginning 11 April 2022 an increase of 3.1%
• Year beginning 12 April 2021 an increase of 0.5%
• Year beginning 06 April 2020 an increase of 1.7%

For new pensions in payment the first increase that you will receive in the April after your pension starts will be a proportion of the full increase, based on the number of months your pension has been in pay.

Payment of Pensions

Pensions are paid on the penultimate working day of the month, directly into your bank account, and are taxable. You will get a P60 after the end of each tax year(April/May), showing you the amount of pension paid and tax deducted during the year. You will receive a payslip in March, April and May to reflect the changes before, during and after the annual pension increase.

Although JSS are primarily responsible for the administration of your pension, the UK SBS Ltd are responsible for making the actual pension payments in to your account. If you have a query relating to the actual payment please telephone the Contact Centre on 01793 867000.

Changing personal details

If you change any of your personal details, such as your address, the bank/building society account your pension is paid into, name or marital status, you must contact us to ensure you continue to receive your pension.

If you change your bank details you need to notify us in writing by the 3rd of the month to ensure you will receive that month's pension payment in the new account.

It is also important that you notify us of any changes to your death benefit nomination.

Overseas Residents

If you are an overseas resident and have a either a UK bank account or an overseas account, please ensure that JSS are notified in writing of any changes to your account as soon as you are made aware of them. This can be by way of a signed letter giving us the new details or a new completed and signed Bank Account form. Upon receipt, JSS will then instruct the pension payroll department to make the changes in the next available pay run.

Both UK and overseas Bank account forms can be found on the Guides and Forms page.

Bereavements

In the unfortunate event of a bereavement it is essential that the Pensioners Team be contacted as soon as possible. Their contact details are on our contacts page.

Please note that the Tell us once service is unable to inform JSS of a bereavement.

Tax related queries

If you have any questions regarding tax, you should raise them with your Tax Office. Contact details are on the HMRC website - external link. Please have your National Insurance number to hand when you contact the Tax Office.

If you live abroad and need information for tax purposes, you should access the non-residents section of the HMRC website - external link.

The telephone number for the tax office is 0300 200 3300. If you are dialling from outside the UK, the number is (+44) 135 535 9022.

Single State Pension

The Single State Pension was introduced in April 2016, information regarding this can be found on the DWP website - external link.

Guaranteed Minimum Pensions (GMP)

Guaranteed Minimum Pension (GMP) is a type of protection that you may have included in your RCPS pension.

You may have a GMP if:

• You paid into the RCPS between 6 April 1978 and 5 April 1997 and/or
• You transferred in pension rights which included a GMP from another pension scheme

Why is it important?

The GMP is the minimum amount of pension that you must be paid in retirement for pension built up between 6 April 1978 and 5 April 1997.

If you have a GMP some of your pension increase will be paid with your RCPS pension and some will be included with your State Pension. You will still receive the full increase.

Why was GMP introduced?

Before 1 April 2016, the State Pension had two tiers:

• The basic State Pension and
• The State Second Pension (S2P) previously known as State Earnings Related Pension (SERPS)

Occupational pension schemes could contract-out of S2P. The RCPS, in common with all public service pension schemes contracted out of S2P. This meant that:

• RCPS members did not contribute to S2P and therefore paid a lower rate of National Insurance contributions
• The RCPS had to ensure that the pension paid to a member was at least as much as they would have received under S2P. This minimum level for pension was known as the GMP

The GMP is not a separate pension. It is the minimum amount that a member's RCPS pension must reach. Usually, your RCPS pension is more than your GMP and the GMP is included in the RCPS pension.

How does GMP affect pension increase?

Every April, a pension increase is applied to your pension. Currently this increase is related to the annual increase in the Consumer Price Index to the previous September.

Pension started before State Pension age:

If you started receiving your pension after GMP age but before State Pension age, then all of the pension increase will be included in your RCPS pension payments.

Pension started on/after State Pension age:

Once you reach State Pension age the responsibility for paying increases on the GMP elements of your pension may be shared between the RCPS and the government. The responsible government department is the Department of Work and Pensions (DWP).

If you reach State Pension age after 5 April 2016, then all of the pension increase will be included in your RCPS pension payments.

If you reach State Pension age before 6 April 2016 then the following table shows what increase is paid on the different parts of your pension and who is responsible for it:

In other words, the DWP will pay:

• All the pension increase on your Pre 1988 GMP
• The excess of a 3% increase on your Post 1988 GMP (or no increase if the increase is 3% or lower)

The rest of your increase is paid with your RCPS pension.

Note that: GMP is split into:

• Pre 1988 - for the period 6 April 1978 to 5 April 1988 and
• Post 1988 - for the period 6 April 1988 to 5 April 1997

Because these two elements must be paid in different ways.

Example

You retired in April 2022 with an RCPS pension of £4,000 per year.

Your GMP was £1,000 made up of £300 for pre 1988 GMP and £700 for post 1988. This GMP is paid as part of your RCPS pension, so your basic RCPS pension without GMP is £3,000 per year.

The pension increase at April 2023 was 10.1%. It would be paid like this:

Total increase on pension will be £4,000 x 10.1% = £404

This is paid by:

RCPS £303 + £21 = £324

DWP £30.30 + £49.70 = £80

Total will be £404

Further Guidance for Pensioners

The Pensioners section on our Further Guidance page contains answers to some other questions you may have.