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CONTACT INFORMATION

August 2012

Transferring Your Pension Rightsto a Personal Plan or Section 32 Buy-Out Bond

West Midlands Pension Fund

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A sales representative must have a strongreason before recommending that youshould transfer your LGPS pension rights toa personal pension plan or a section 32 buy-out bond.

You should be aware that the pensionsindustry is a highly competitive market andthe main priority for most insurance companies, banks etc, is to sell you one oftheir products.

Therefore, we strongly recommend that youseek impartial and independent financial advice before going ahead with this type oftransfer.

Most financial advisers/sales representativesearn commission for the pension productsthey sell. Any commission payable is offsetagainst your plan (ie, you pay for it). You willalso pay for administration costs, policy feesand other expenses charged by insurancecompanies, banks, building societies, etc.

The costs of administering the LGPS are metby employers.

The money you put into these plans is ofteninvested in the stock market, so the value ofyour investment can go down as well as up.

The amount of pension payable from theseplans cannot be determined until the dayyou retire, and that will be of little use toyou if the stock market crashes on the sameday. There are no guarantees.

Quotations projecting the benefits from a personal pension plan or section 32 buy-out bond can be very misleading. These projections can be very large indeed,but the rates of interest assumed in thequotation are not guaranteed. They are example rates of return laid down in agreement with wide rules.

2 WEST MIDLANDS PENSION FUNDTRANSFERRING YOUR PENSION RIGHTS TO A PERSONAL PLAN OR SECTION 32 BUY-OUT BONDAugust 2012

ARE YOU THINKING OF TRANSFERRING YOUR DEFERRED BENEFITS?

You may, subject to certain conditions, transfer the cash equivalent of your Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS) pension rights to an approved personal pension plan (offered by insurance companies, building societies, banks and other financial institutions) or to a section 32 buy-out bond (offered by insurance companies).

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WEST MIDLANDS PENSION FUND 3TRANSFERRING YOUR PENSION RIGHTS TO A PERSONAL PLAN OR SECTION 32 BUY-OUT BOND

August 2012

Even if the company has a good track record,this should not be taken as a guarantee thatfuture returns will be as good.

When comparing the benefits quotedagainst LGPS benefits, remember that LGPSdeferred benefits are fully index-linked bothbefore and after they have been broughtinto payment.

The LGPS provides a wide range of benefits(pension and tax-free cash lump-sum, deathbenefits, spouse’s and children’s pensions,early retirement provisions, etc) and youshould make sure that your financial adviseris aware of this.

You will have no right of redress on the Fundor your former employer if your personalpension plan or section 32 buy-out bonddoes not match expectations.

TRANSFER INFORMATIONIf you require any further information abouttransferring your LGPS benefits, contactCustomer Services on 0300 111 1665.

KEEP IN TOUCH

Don’t forget to keep all your pensionproviders up to date with any change in your home address.

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4 WEST MIDLANDS PENSION FUNDTRANSFERRING YOUR PENSION RIGHTS TO A PERSONAL PLAN OR SECTION 32 BUY-OUT BONDAugust 2012

Write to us at:

West Midlands Pension FundPO Box 3948WolverhamptonWV1 1XP

Email us on:

pensionfundenquiries@ wolverhampton.gov.uk

Telephone Customer Services on:

0300 111 1665Visit our website at:

wmpfonline.com

Fax us on:

0845 230 1565Minicom/Typetalk:

01902 554607

Send us a text on:

Text WMPF + your message to 60066Standard short code network charges apply

Lines are open during the following times:8:30am to 5.00pm Monday -Thursday8:30am to 4.30pm Friday

Calls may be monitored for training purposes

CONTACT INFORMATION

Data ProtectionTo protect any personal information held on computer, West Midlands Pension Fund is registered under the Data Protection Act 1998. This allows members to check that their details held are accurate. The Fund may, if it chooses, passcertain details to a third party, if the third party is carrying out an administrative function of the Fund, for example, theFund’s AVC provider. Members who wish to apply to access their data on Data Protection Act grounds should contact theFund’s Data Protection Officer on (01902) 554498 or via email (data.protection@wolverhampton.gov.uk). This authorityis under a duty to protect the public funds it administers, and to this end may use information for the prevention anddetection of fraud. It may also share this information with other bodies administering public funds solely for these purposes.

The Audit Commission appoints an auditor to audit our accounts. It is also responsible for carrying out data matchingexercises. The Audit Commission currently requires the authority to participate in a data matching exercise to assist inthe prevention and detection of fraud. For more information, see www.wolverhampton.gov.uk/council/corporate/finance/corruption_fraud/nfi.htm

Information produced by the Fund can be made available in several formats. If you have any special requirements or wouldlike to speak face to face with a member of staff, please contact us. Please remember that special requirements may take a little longer than normal to organise, but you have our assurance that we will do our best to ensure you receive the information in the most appropriate and efficient manner possible.

This booklet is not intended to be a definitive analysis of the LGPS, nor is it specific to the circumstances of any particular member, their dependants or an employer. The information contained is not intented to constitute advice and should not be considered a substitute for specific advice related to individual circumstances. No liability is accepted for any errors of fact or opinion expressed.

The LGPS is currently undergoing consultation on a new-look Scheme from 1 April 2014. For more details of how the new LGPS will work from that date and to find out how you can comment on the proposals, see the Fund’s website.

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