This page contains guides and sample documents issued by the LGA Bluelight team in collaboration with the Fire Communications Working Group on a variety of subjects. The topics are listed in alphabetical order with both tracked and clean versions available where there have been changes to the documents.
Items in Word format can be edited - please check any areas highlighted in yellow or as otherwise instructed.
This page contains guides and sample documents issued by the LGA Bluelight team in collaboration with the Fire Communications Working Group on a variety of subjects. The topics are listed in alphabetical order with both tracked and clean versions available where there have been changes to the documents.
Items in Word format can be edited - please check any areas highlighted in yellow or as otherwise instructed.
Aggregation
Topic | Document and description | Intended audience | Publication date |
Aggregation | Guide to combining pension scheme service in the FPS (PDF, 18 pages, 423kb) | Administrators | June 2020 |
Annual Allowance
Topic | Document and description | Intended audience | Publication date |
Annual Allowance | Annual Allowance factsheet for members (Word, 12 pages, 103kb) | Scheme members | October 2020 |
Annual Allowance factsheet for members (Word, 10 pages, 82.6kb) | Scheme members | April 2019 |
Annual Benefit Statements (ABS)
28 April 2020
We have now had confirmation that the benefit statements will be proceeding as per the Fire SAB decision to issue ABS for 31 March 2020 with projections based on the current scheme rules. The Home Office have agreed a standard caveat with HM Treasury and issued this for use across all Police and Fire statements.
This caveat has been included in the updated ABS 2020 template and notes in the table below.
We will look to convene a meeting of the Fire Communications Working Group imminently, to agree how we will distribute the message to members that this year’s statements will continue to project based on current scheme rules.
3 April 2020
Earlier this year the technical group agreed that in order to gain consistency in the issue of Annual Benefit Statements (ABS) for 2020 a central direction from the Scheme Advisory Board would be required. A paper was provided to the Board who duly considered this issue and agreed that ABS should be provided based on projections to normal retirement age (accepting that those projections will be based on current FPS 2015 rules), on the proviso that the Board would work with the communications group to provide standard documentation for members explaining the reason for this decision.
However, we have this week (commencing 30 March 2020) been informed that the central PSPS steering group of policy leads from all the main public service pension schemes, which the Home Office attend, have agreed that a central approach will need to be taken by all public service pension schemes on this matter and that individual schemes should not be taking their own approach.
We appreciate that work will have already started on the provision of ABS and we are working to update the annual benefit statement template. We will work with the Home Office on this and provide updates as soon as we are able.
Topic | Document and description | Intended audience | Publication date |
Annual Benefit Statements | ABS 2020 template and notes (Word, 12 pages, 134kb) | FRAs, LPBs | April 2020 |
Annex A - current value of benefits (PDF, 6 pages, 168kb) | FRAs, LPBs | April 2020 | |
Annex B - CPD, LSI and APBs (PDF, 2 pages, 107kb) | FRAs, LPBs | April 2020 | |
Annex C - retiring from the scheme (PDF, 2 pages, 153kb) | FRAs, LPBs | April 2020 | |
Annex D - estimated value of CARE pension (PDF, 4 pages, 157kb) | FRAs, LPBs | April 2020 | |
Annex E - estimated value of final salary pension (PDF, 1 page, 133kb) | FRAs, LPBs | April 2020 | |
Annex F - survivor benefits (PDF, 3 pages, 137kb) | FRAs, LPBs | April 2020 | |
Annex G - adjustments to pension (PDF, 1 pages, 90.2kb) | FRAs, LPBs | April 2020 | |
Annex H - pension growth (PDF, 2 pages, 108kb) | FRAs, LPBs | April 2020 | |
Double accrual guarantee (PDF, 1 page, 118kb) | FRAs, LPBs | April 2020 | |
Explanation of terms (PDF, 3 pages, 139kb) | FRAs, LPBs | April 2020 | |
ABS 2019 template and notes (Word, 29 pages, 157kb) | FRAs, LPBs | June 2019 | |
ABS 2018 template and notes (Word, 29 pages, 158kb) | FRAs, LPBs | June 2018 |
Data scoring
Topic | Document and description | Intended audience | Publication date |
Data scoring | Advice on TPR data scoring 2019 - clean (PDF, 15 pages, 382kb) | FRAs, LPBs, Administrators | October 2019 |
Advice on TPR data scoring 2019 - tracked (PDF, 19 pages, 396kb) | FRAs, LPBs, Administrators | October 2019 | |
Data score weighting template 2019 (xlsx, 13kb) | FRAs, LPBs, Administrators | October 2019 | |
Illustrative data requirements for TPR data scoring (PDF, 12 pages, 356kb) | FRAs, LPBs, Administrators | August 2018 |
Disclosure
Topic | Document and description | Intended audience | Publication date |
Disclosure | Guide to Disclosure of Information requirements (PDF, 13 pages, 376kb) | FRAs, LPBs | July 2018 |
Discretions
Topic | Document and description | Intended audience | Publication date |
Discretions |
Full list of discretions available to scheme managers in the FPS (PDF, 82 pages, 990kb) | FRAs, LPBs | July 2018 |
|
FPS 1992 discretions and table of delegations (Word, 19 pages, 290kb) |
FRAs, LPBs | July 2018 |
|
FPS 2006 discretions and table of delegations (Word, 19 pages, 292kb) |
FRAs, LPBs |
July 2018 |
|
FPS 2015 discretions and table of delegations (Word, 18 pages, 245kb) | FRAs, LPBs | July 2018 |
|
FCS discretions and table of delegations (Word, 15 pages, 203kb) | FRAs, LPBs | July 2018 |
Finance and funding
Topic | Document and description | Intended audience | Publication date |
Finance and funding | FPS forecasting guidance (PDF, 22 pages, 620kb) | FRAs, Finance | July 2019 |
Guidance for FRAs on new financial arrangements for firefighter pensions with effect from April 2006 (PDF, 40 pages, 423kb) | FRAs, Finance | August 2006 | |
Annex D: Actuarial data required for setting contribution rates (PDF, 5 pages, 151kb) |
Forms
Topic | Document and description | Intended audience | Publication date |
Forms |
Election to join (Word, 1 page, 19.2kb) | FRAs | December 2019 |
|
FPS 1992 notes on opting out (Word, 2 pages, 23.3kb) | FRAs | December 2018 |
FPS 2006 (standard member) notes on opting out (Word, 2 pages, 22.7kb) | FRAs | December 2018 | |
FPS 2006 (special member) notes on opting out (Word, 2 pages, 23kb) | FRAs | December 2018 | |
FPS 2015 notes on opting out (Word, 3 pages, 23.5kb) | FRAs | December 2018 | |
Election to opt out (Word, 2 pages, 17.6kb) | FRAs | December 2018 |
GDPR
Topic | Document and description | Intended audience | Publication date |
GDPR |
Template privacy notice for FRAs as Data Controllers (Word, 8 pages, 57kb) | FRAs | May 2018 |
Notes on use/ adaptation of the template privacy notice (PDF, 7 pages, 331kb) | FRAs | May 2018 |
IDRP
Topic | Document and description | Intended audience | Publication date |
IDRP | IDRP factsheet (PDF, 6 pages, 247kb) | FRAs | June 2020 |
Lifetime Allowance
Topic | Document and description | Intended audience | Publication date |
Lifetime Allowance | Lifetime Allowance factsheet for members (Word, 8 pages, 79.1kb) | Scheme members | February 2021 |
Lifetime Allowance factsheet for members (Word, 8 pages, 71kb) | Scheme members | May 2019 |
Member guides
Topic | Document and description | Intended audience | Publication date |
Member guides | FPS 2015 Added Pension - factsheet and election form (Word, 3 pages, 130kb) | Scheme members | April 2020 |
Member guide to pensions tax by Mark Belchamber, Income for the Third Age | Scheme members | July 2019 | |
SI 2019/378 - Leaflet for communicating scheme changes to members (Word, 3 pages, 93kb) | Scheme members | May 2019 | |
Retirement from FPS 2015 - member factsheet (PDF, 3 pages, 330kb) | Scheme members | December 2018 | |
SI 2018/997 - Leaflet for communicating scheme changes to members (Word, 3 pages, 92kb) | Scheme members | November 2018 | |
|
Short guide to FPS 2015 (Word, 12 pages, 29kb) | Scheme members | July 2018 |
Retirement decision trees
Topic | Document and description | Intended audience | Publication date |
Retirement decision trees |
Benefit flowchart for an FPS 2015 member with 1992 transitional benefits (PDF, 1 page, 273kb) |
FRAs Scheme members |
September 2018 |
Benefit flowchart for an FPS 2015 member with standard 2006 transitional benefits (PDF, 1 page, 244kb) |
FRAs Scheme members |
September 2018 |
|
Benefit flowchart for an FPS 2015 member with special 2006 transitional benefits (PDF, 1 page, 250kb) |
FRAs Scheme members |
September 2018 |
|
Benefit flowchart for a member with FPS 2015 benefits only (PDF, 1 page, 309kb) |
FRAs Scheme members |
September 2018 |
Scheme pays
Topic | Document and description | Intended audience | Publication date |
Scheme pays | Voluntary Scheme Pays (VSP) guidance (PDF, 12 pages, 479kb) | FRAs Administrators | January 2018 |
VSP election form - member (PDF, 2 pages, 71kb) | Scheme members | January 2018 | |
VSP election form - scheme manager (PDF, 1 page, 10kb) | FRAs | January 2018 | |
Guidance on proportioning the scheme pays debit (PDF, 3 pages, 292kb) | FRAs Administrators | January 2018 |
Technical notes
Topic | Document and description | Intended audience | Publication date |
Technical notes | Restricting exit payments in the public sector (PDF, 7 pages, 264kb) | FRAs | May 2019 |
2019 amendment orders (PDF, 4 pages, 362kb) | FRAs | March 2019 | |
2018 amendment orders (PDF, 6 pages, 272kb) | FRAs | September 2018 | |
Taxable treatment of Ill-Health pension paid from the compensation scheme (PDF, 5 pages, 299kb) | FRAs | September 2017 | |
2017 amendment orders (PDF, 20 pages, 553kb) | FRAs | September 2017 |
Transfers
Topic | Document and description | Intended audience | Publication date |
Transfers | QROPS Spring Budget 2017 information (PDF, 4 pages, 99.4kb) |
Administrators Scheme members |
March 2017 |