Your Past Is Your Future BUS FUND October 2016 Issue 18 | Page 12

12 Reduction in Lifetime Allowance from April 2016 The Lifetime Allowance is the total capital value of all your pension arrangements which you can build up without paying extra tax. From April 2016 the Lifetime Allowance reduced from £1.25 million to £1 million and will be indexed annually in line with Consumer Prices Index from April 2018. Two protection regimes have been introduced for members still accruing benefits: ‘fixed protection 2016’- members must have no benefit accrual after 6th April 2016 and for the new ‘individual protection 2016’members must have total pension savings of at least £1m on 5th April 2016. For more details on Lifetime Allowance and the protections available for members who currently exceed £1m visit our website at http://www.sypensions.org.uk/Publications/Factsheets We are here to help PLEASE ASK US For pension related queries, please contact us on 01226 772923 If you would like this, or future newsletters, in large type, on audio CD or Braille, please contact the Communications Team on 01226 772961, or write to the address below. Address for letters; South Yorkshire Pensions Authority, 18 Regent Street, Barnsley. S70 2HG Find out more Lifetime Allowance and Tax are highly technical and complex issues and will only affect a small number of our members. If you think pension taxation may apply to you it is essential that you obtain advice from a qualified tax adviser or an independent financial adviser at www.unbiased.co.uk Other ways to contact us; Customer Service Excellence REVIEW March saw the 2nd interim review for our Customer Service Excellence Award. The assessor undertook an onsite review, speaking to both members of the Scheme and staff. The main focus for the surveillance was to look at what progress had been made since last year’s assessment. The assessor focussed on the issues relating to the implementation of our new system and any improvements that had been made. The visit took place in March and I am pleased to announce that we have, again, successfully continued to meet the requirements for the award and therefore our accreditation will continue for another 12 months. Email: [email protected] Telephone: [phone] Website: www.sypensions.org.uk Fax: [phone] Text: 07786 204697 (always quote your National Insurance number and subject) You can also follow us on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube at; www.sypensions.org.uk/facebook www.twitter.com/sypensions www.youtube.com/sypensions Produced by South Yorkshire Pensions Authority, 18 Regent Street, Barnsley. S70 2HG The information contained in this newsletter relates to LGPS members only and cannot be treated as a statement of law.