Transfer Out of Benefits

After you leave the Gwynedd Pension Fund with an entitlement to deferred benefits, you will have the option of transferring these benefits into the following type of schemes: 

Another LGPS Fund

If you have left the Gwynedd Pension Fund and accept a job with an employer that participates in another LGPS Fund, it will be possible to transfer your deferred pension benefits into that fund. 

This will not be done automatically. 

Within 12 months of re-joining the new Fund, you will need to inform your new employer that you have previous pension rights with the Gwynedd Pension Fund that you would like to investigate transferring into their scheme.  They will then send you a letter outlining the salary your pension benefits are based on with the Gwynedd Pension Fund and the new post’s commencing salary. 

A Non LGPS Pension Provider

It is possible to transfer your deferred benefits into a non LGPS pension provider, such as:

  • An occupational scheme
  • A personal pension plan
  • A stakeholder pension

This may be to an overseas scheme or an arrangement that has been fully approved by Her Majesty’s Revenues and Customs (HMRC).

You should contact your new scheme administrator to find out if they are willing and able to accept a transfer from an LGPS Fund, and the procedure for doing so.

When requested, we will issue them with a cash equivalent transfer value of your deferred benefits, which will be guaranteed for 3 months from date of calculation.  Your new scheme administrator will then provide you with an estimate outlining its value in their pension scheme. 

It will be your responsibility to compare the benefits this transfer would provide with those you would receive as a deferred member of the Gwynedd Pension Fund. 

If you do decide to proceed, you will no longer have any pension rights within the Gwynedd Pension Fund. 

Points to note

If you wish to investigate transferring your deferred benefits into one of these schemes, you should contact your new pension provider to find out if they are able to accept a transfer and if there are any time limits for doing so.  If they are willing, they will then write to us requesting a transfer value quotation and let you know what the benefits will be worth in their scheme.

The latest you can request to transfer your benefits out of the Gwynedd Pension Fund is one year before your normal pension age. 

Transferring your pension rights is not always an easy decision to make and you may wish to seek the help of an independent financial advisor.