14.01.19
Government sets out increased pension protection for outsourced council workers
Local government workers whose jobs have been outsourced will receive increased pension protections and will remain in the Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS) under new proposals published today.
Under the government proposals, employers of outsourced staff will no longer be able to offer staff a comparable scheme – all transferred staff will be able to stay in the LGPS.
A consultation has been launched, putting forward proposals around mergers and takeovers of LGPS providers and, where a provider has been taken over, the liabilities for its pension scheme will now fall to the successor body.
Rishi Sunak, the minister for local government, commented: “We’re committed to making the LGPS fairer and are seeking views on taking existing pension protections further.
“Staff who have no choice in the transfer of their role will, under these plans, have the peace of mind that, despite their change in employer, they will remain in the LGPS, retaining their full membership and benefits.”
Currently, employers with staff who have been transferred from local government roles can offer staff broadly comparable private pension schemes.
But under the reform, transferred staff will continue to have access to all the benefits of being a member of the government’s pension scheme, and their membership will continue even if their role is sub-contracted or transferred again provided they stay in the same role.