Who can join the LGPS and how automatic enrolment works

If you work for a council or another employer that takes part in the Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS) in England and Wales, and you are under 75, you will generally join on your first day. Some employers only offer membership to staff they nominate. If you cannot join automatically, you can usually ask to opt in, and an employer must re-enrol you roughly every three years if you have opted out and are an eligible jobholder.

Which employers offer the LGPS

You can only join if your employer takes part in the scheme. The LGPS site groups employers in three ways.

Local government employers include councils, civilian staff of police and fire authorities, coroners, the Environment Agency and non-teaching employees of an academy. Their eligible staff join in the usual way.

Designating bodies can nominate employees for membership. They include town and parish councils, voluntary schools, foundation schools, foundation special schools and federated schools, among others. You can only join if your employer nominates you.

Admission bodies are employers that take part under an admission agreement, usually charities or contractors running a service a council or school has outsourced. Your employer may be able to nominate you, and some only allow staff whose jobs transferred from a local government employer. The outsourcing guide explains what that means for staff who move.

Who cannot join

You cannot join if you are 75 or over. You also cannot join if you are able to join another public service pension scheme. Police officers, operational firefighters, most teachers and employees who are eligible for the NHS scheme are generally not allowed to join the LGPS. If you work in a school as a teacher you have the Teachers’ Pension Scheme, and support staff in the same school are normally in the LGPS.

When you join

If your employer participates and you are eligible, you generally join on the first day of employment. The automatic enrolment earnings trigger (below) does not stop you electing to join. A contract of less than three months, or an earlier decision to opt out, is where automatic enrolment rules come in. Part-time and term-time staff are covered in the same way, and the part-time pensions guide explains how pay is treated.

You do not have to wait for your employer to enrol you. If you are eligible you can elect to join at any time before 75 by contacting your fund or employer.

Automatic enrolment

The scheme says workers fall into three categories based on age and earnings: eligible jobholders, non-eligible jobholders and entitled workers. An eligible jobholder is aged 22 or over, under State Pension age and earns over £10,000 a year. Earnings are assessed every pay period, so for monthly pay the trigger is £833 in a month. If you are not already a member, you are only automatically enrolled if you are an eligible jobholder. Automatic enrolment does not change anything for existing members.

Your employer may choose not to enrol you if you opted out less than 12 months before the enrolment date, if you have given notice or been given notice of dismissal, or if it believes you hold a lifetime allowance protection. It may postpone enrolling you for up to three months, for example if you are on a short contract of under three months. The automatic enrolment guide covers the general rules.

Opting out and coming back

You opt out by giving your employer notice in writing, using a form from your pension fund. You cannot opt out before the first day you are a member. If you opt out in the first three months, you are treated as never having been a member and your contributions are refunded. After that, the options depend on how long you were in, and the leaving the LGPS guide sets them out.

If you opt out, your employer must re-enrol you about every three years on a set date, provided you are an eligible jobholder. You can opt back in at any time while eligible and under 75, usually by telling your employer in writing. The LGPS site suggests considering the 50/50 section, where you pay half the contributions for half the pension, before opting out altogether. The LGPS guide covers it.

What to check

Look at your contract or offer letter for the words “LGPS” or “pension scheme”. If you work for a contractor, a charity or a parish council, ask whether the employer is an admission or designating body, and whether you have to be nominated. Ask how your employer handles postponement. If you opted out in the past and are not sure of your status, contact your pension fund, which holds your record.