The new Local Government Pension Scheme (in our region known as the South Yorkshire Pension Scheme) comes into being on 1 April 2014.   The Public Service Pensions Act became law in April this year.   This legislation was necessary to allow the existing schemes to be changed, and the detail of how the scheme will work in included in draft regulations currently out for consultation (https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/local-government-pension-scheme-2014).

For more information on the progress of the design of the new scheme, see: http://www.lgps2014.org/.

UNISON has concerns about the extension of “fair deal” protection to LGPS members, which has not yet been finalised.  “Fair deal” means that if a public service is privatised, workers are allowed to maintain membership of the LGPS.   UNISON believes that this protection was built into the agreement on reform of the LGPS and that therefore all scheme members should be covered, and is making representations to that effect.