Latest news & announcements

Brunel Pension Partnership co-file a shareholder resolution at Barclays AGM, putting climate change centre stage for the banking sector

13 January 2020

Institutional investors managing over £130bn including Brunel Pension Partnership, one of Avon Pension Fund’s investment managers, have filed a shareholder resolution at Barclays alongside over 100 individual shareholders. It will be voted on by investors at Barclays’ annual general meeting in May 2020.

This landmark resolution – the first climate change resolution filed at a European bank – requests that Barclays publishes a plan to gradually stop the provision of financial services to companies in the energy sector, and to gas and electric utilities that are not aligned with the goals of the Paris climate agreement.

Late retirement factor changes

19 September 2019

The Government have announced changes to the late retirement factors for the Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS). These changes came into effect from 1 September 2019 and will affect members who carry on working beyond their normal pension age (NPA). Members who retire after their NPA will see either no change to the increase they receive on their pension or a slight increase depending on how long after their NPA they are retiring.

Members who retire two years after their NPA will see no change to the increase they receive on their pension.
Members who retire over two years after their NPA will see a slight improvement to the increase they receive on their pension.

Telling HMRC about pension tax charges on the SA100 tax return

31 July 2019

HMRC have received feedback that pension scheme members are not sure how to give them details if more than one pension scheme is paying an amount of their annual allowance charge or overseas transfer charge.

How to tell HMRC about pension tax charge

The ‘additional information’ box previously at box 21, page Ai4 on the 2018 version of the SA101 for 2019 has been removed. Instead for 2019, pension scheme members should provide the additional details in the ‘any other information’ box on page TR7 of the 2019 SA100 Tax Return.

Members can find more information about how to tell HMRC about pension tax charges on their Self Assessment return in the HS345 Self Assessment helpsheet for 2019.

Unison ShareAction report on responsible investing in the LGPS

21 May 2019

All LGPS funds are required to publish an Investment Strategy Statement. This statement explains the Fund's investment strategy, how it manages all relevant investment risks and how it carries out its stewardship responsibilities. Unison commissioned a report to review and analyse the statements which can be accessed below. The report highlights the proactive strategy the Avon Pension Fund has for responsible investing.

UNISON / ShareAction - LGPS Responsible Investment Report 2019

Changes to the LGPS

20 March 2019

There have been recent changes to the Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS) following the introduction of the LGPS (Miscellaneous Amendment) Regulations 2018 which came into force on 10 January 2019.

Changes to survivor benefits for same sex spouses and civil partners

A change to the scheme rules has been made to provide that survivor benefits payable to a same sex spouse or a civil partner are equal those paid to the widow of a male member.

Transition to Low Carbon Investments

18 March 2019

The Avon Pension Fund’s investment strategy must work hard to generate good returns without taking too much risk in order to fund the pensions accruing well into the future, and keep members and employers contributions as affordable as possible.

No deal scenario Brexit guidance

15 March 2019

On 15 February 2019, the Department for Work and Pensions updated two sets of guidance explaining the rights of UK nationals in the EU, and EU citizens in the UK, to benefits and pensions if the UK leaves the EU without an agreement (a 'no deal' scenario).

The guidance confirms in respect of both parties that “There is nothing in UK private occupational pensions legislation that prevents occupational pension schemes from making pension payments overseas. We do not expect that this will change as a result of the UK withdrawing from the EU.”

Pensions Regulator warns of fraudsters cold-calling

1 August 2018

The Pensions Regulator (TPR) has warned of fraudsters who may be trying to steal the savings of workers by falsely claiming to be calling from The Pensions Regulator.

The TPR has received reports of pension holders being cold-called by individuals who have posed as TPR staff offering the workers a 'free pension review'. TPR have confirmed that this is a common warning sign of a scam as TPR never cold-calls individuals about their pensions. TPR has reported the cases to the Information Commissioners Office (ICO) for investigation and will also report any future cases.

Amendments to the LGPS

19 June 2018

Changes have been made to the Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS). These changes, unless indicated otherwise, come into effect from 14 May 2018 and are summarised below.

Your data - General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR)

17 May 2018

The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) is a new set of European Union regulations due to come into force on 25 May 2018. It will change how organisations process and handle data, with the key aim of giving greater protection and rights to individuals.

The Avon Pension Fund already has procedures in place which comply with similar data protection principles under the Data Protection Act 1998. The new regulations will reinforce these existing requirements, and members are unlikely to notice a change in the service they receive from the Avon Pension Fund.

Latest news & announcements

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