Reporting Pensions newsletter

Annual Benefit Statements 

We have now published your Annual Benefit Statement online or posted it out to your home address (if you have selected this option) for all active members. Your statement is an important reminder of the value of your LGPS pension and lets you see how your pension is building year on year.

Please also check that your ‘expression of wish form’ is complete and is still current, and check that all your personal details are correct.

Log in or register at https://oxfordshire.pensiondetails.co.uk/ and select Documents, then My Documents to see your statement.

Change to pension age 

The Normal Minimum Pension Age (NMPA) is the earliest age that you can take your pension. 

The NMPA is currently 55, but it will rise to 57 from 6 April 2028. This change does not apply if you have to take your pension early due to ill health.

What does this mean for me?

We don’t know for certain what this will mean for everyone, as the changes form part of a consultation which is currently underway. The government is proposing the following:

1. Protected Pension Age (PPA)

If someone was already in the LGPS before 4 November 2021, they’ll keep the right to take their pension from age 55. This will be known as their Protected Pension Age.

2. Transfers from Other Schemes

If someone moves their pension from another scheme into the LGPS and had the right to take it at 55, they won’t keep that right. They’ll have to wait until 57. The government says it’s likely to be too complicated and expensive to change the LGPS rules to allow people to take different parts of their pension at different times.

3. New Members

Anyone who joined the LGPS after 4 November 2021 will have to wait until 57 to take their pension.

4. Special Cases

Some people already had the right to take their pension even earlier (like at 50). Those rights won’t change.

The consultation will close on 22 December 2025. If you would like to respond, please click here: https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/local-government-pension-scheme-in-england-and-wales-scheme-improvements-access-and-protections

You can respond even if the changes don’t affect you directly.

Innovative Investments 

In August, a medical company that the Oxfordshire Pension Fund invested in at an early stage was sold for £1.1bn. OrganOx, originally spun out of the University of Oxford, makes devices that keep organs alive outside of the human body. 

OrganOx’s technology is used to extend the usable life of organs that have been donated for transplants with the technology now being used at many leading US transplant centres. The device creates an environment for the organ like that inside a human body and has been used in over 6,000 liver transplants to date. The company is now expanding its use with other organs, such as the kidney, and to new areas such as organ support.

This type of early-stage investment into locally-based hi tech companies demonstrates that the Fund is able to secure an excellent financial return from its investments whilst also supporting innovative Oxfordshire companies developing life-saving technologies.

Changes to My Oxfordshire Pension 

Can you believe it is nearly 8 years since we rolled out our member portal My Oxfordshire Pension? We are working on upgrading My Oxfordshire Pension and you will therefore see some changes over the next few months. 

Not only will the portal look more modern and be more user-friendly, but you will also have additional functions and views, and the security of your data will be updated and strengthened. 

The changes will be effective late 2025 or early in 2026.

As we are upgrading cyber-security, you are likely to be asked to go through some new security steps when you log in – this should be easy to do, but our teams will be on hand (in office hours) to help if there are problems. 

The future for Oxfordshire Investments

All LGPS funds ‘pool’ their investments together with several other funds. The benefits of doing so include:

• Achieving benefits for scale
• Strong governance and decision making
• Reducing costs and value for money
• Improving capacity and capability to invest in infrastructure

The Oxfordshire Pension Fund is in the Brunel pool, but had to find a new pool by September 2025 after the government rejected Brunel’s business plan back in April. 

The Fund has now chosen LGPS Central as its new pooling partner.

Mark Smith, Head of Pensions, said “We are pleased to be partnering with LGPS Central. We have been consistently impressed with the senior leadership team at LGPS Central, which gives us a high degree of confidence that, working in partnership, we can not only deliver but exceed the government’s vision for the LGPS. We believe that LGPS Central, operating at scale, can drive even greater value and performance outcomes than those already achieved.”

We will keep members up to date with the progress of the move in the coming months. However, please be assured that you will see no changes day-to-day, and the move does not affect the security of your pension or the way it is calculated. 

Pension Awareness Week

Did you join any of our free webinars during Pension Awareness Week in September?

We joined forces with Clwyd and Shropshire Pension Funds to run 8 Pension Basics bite-size sessions in the week of 15 September. We had nearly 3,000 members joining the sessions of which close to 46% were Oxfordshire members – so thank you for supporting us!! 

If you didn’t get to the presentations, you can find them at www.oxfordshire.gov.uk/pensionawarenessweek or ask your employer to arrange a face-to-face LGPS talk for you and your colleagues.

Scams

Please be wary of pension scams – anyone who offers you the opportunity to “liberate” your pension before age 55, is breaking the law. Anyone who cold-calls you about your pension is also breaking the law.

Top Tips:

• Reject unexpected offers or cold calls
• Check who you’re dealing with by checking the Financial Services Register https://register.fca.org.uk/s/
• Don’t be rushed or pressured into making decisions
• Get impartial information and advice from https://www.moneyhelper.org.uk/en

Useful links

National LGPS members website - www.lgpsmember.org

Detailed scheme member guide Oxfordshire Pension Fund - www.oxfordshire.gov.uk/pensions

Legal and General – top up your pension Fund -www.legalandgeneral.com/oxfordshirepensionfund/

Advisory services

Money Helper - https://www.moneyhelper.org.uk/en

The Pensions Regulator - www.thepensionsregulator.gov.uk/

State pension planning and forecasts - https://www.yourpension.gov.uk/

Be ‘scamsmart’ – find out more on how scammers work and get advice on the FCA’s website - https://www.fca.org.uk/consumers/pension-scams

Find us on LinkedIn!

You can now follow us here: https://www.linkedin.com/company/oxfordshire-pension-fund/