Local Government Pension Scheme (Essex Pension Scheme, EPS)
Now closed to new members, the Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS) was the former scheme open to employees of the University and WPML who were not eligible to join USS.
From 1 April 2014, the LGPS became a Career Average Revalued Earnings (CARE) scheme. A CARE scheme calculates your pension using the formula:
- Pension = years of membership x accrual rate x pensionable pay
In a CARE scheme the pensionable pay for each year of membership is used, in order to calculate a pension amount for that particular year. That pension amount is then increased (revalued) each year in line with inflation. These individual pension amounts are then added together to arrive at the total pension payable from the scheme.
For example, if someone earns £20,000 and the accrual rate of the pension is 1/49, their annual pension resulting from year 1 in their job is £20,000 x 1/49 = £408.
- More information about the Essex Pension Scheme
Your contributions
Your contribution rate depends on how much you are paid and will be between 5.5% and 12.5% of your pensionable pay.
If you work part-time or term-time, your rate is based on the actual pay for your job, so you only pay contributions on the pay you actually earn.
