Annual Benefit Illustration (ABI)

We send an Annual Benefit Illustration (ABI) to your home address at the end of August. It provides a personalised illustration of your benefits in the LGPS.

Register or log in to member self service You can view your ABI figures and use the online projectors.

From August 2024, we will make your ABI available to view on member self service only. You can request to receive a paper copy of your ABI. Complete the opt out of digital communication form

Change of home address and email

It is important that you tell us when you change your address. Register or log in to member self service to edit your address yourself. Alternatively you can tell us to update your pension account - complete the online change of home address and email form

Information in your ABI

Your ABI includes information about:

State Pension information

Your ABI will not include information about your State Pension. Visit the GOV.UK website for information about your State Pension

Additional Voluntary Contributions (AVC’s) information

Your ABI will not include information about AVCs. Your AVC provider sends a separate illustration.

Converting annual pension to lump sum

You can convert some of your pension to a lump sum. Find out about converting pension to lump sum

More than one job

We send an ABI for each job you pay into the scheme. You have a separate pension account for each job. If you leave one of the jobs, your pension accounts may be aggregated. We will write to you to let you know. Find out about aggregating pension accounts

Casual and zero hour contracts

If you are a casual or zero hour contracted employee, we send an ABI to you even if you have not worked in the last financial year.

If you did not work, some of the figures on your ABI will show as zero. Some figures will show when you previously built up pension. As long as you remain employed on your casual or zero hours contract and do not opt out of the scheme, you continue to be a member of the LGPS with the benefits that apply.

Over 55 and thinking of taking your pension

It is important to note that your ABI is for illustration purposes only. It is based on the information we hold on your record up to the previous 31 March.

If you are within 6 months of your anticipated retirement date and you are over age 55, you should ask your employer to request an estimate for you. Your employer must request this as they send us your up to date pay figures. An estimate provides details of the options available to you. It tells you the reductions to your pension if you are retiring before your normal pension age. Find out about reductions to your pension if you retire early at your request

We provide a free pre retirement course to scheme members who have contributed to the LGPS and are within 18 months of retirement. Find out about the free pre retirement course

Survivor’s pension

A survivor’s pension is automatically payable to a spouse or civil partner.

A survivor pension is payable to your cohabiting partner if they meet certain qualifying conditions. On your death, we ask your eligible cohabiting partner to provide 2 documents from 2 years before, and within 3 months of your death. This is required as proof that your relationship met the conditions. Documents of proof include:

  • utility bills
  • bank account statements
  • mortgage, lease or tenancy agreements.

Find out about death in service

Help with your ABI

If you have a query, please refer to the explanatory notes on your ABI.  If you still do not find your answer, complete the online ABI enquiry form

McCloud judgement and your ABI

When the LGPS changed from a final salary to a career average pension scheme in 2014, protections for older scheme members were introduced.

Similar protections were provided in other public sector pension schemes. The Court of Appeal ruled that younger members of the Judges’ and Firefighters’ Pension schemes have been discriminated against because the protections do not apply to them. The government confirmed that there will be changes to all main public sector schemes, including the LGPS, to remove this age discrimination. This ruling is often called the ‘McCloud judgment’.

The government is still considering exactly what changes need to be made to remove the discrimination from the LGPS. This means it has not been possible to reflect the impact of the judgment in your ABI this year.  If you qualify for protection it will apply automatically - you do not need to make a claim.

The Local Government Association (LGA) have produced information about the McCloud remedy for members. It includes key dates, FAQs, and an online tool to find out if you are affected. Find out about the McCloud remedy in the LGPS for members

The Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC) have produced a factsheet summarising the McCloud judgement and the changes the government are making to the LGPS. Read the factsheet about the McCloud judgement and your LGPS pension