Kent Pension Fund participates in a data sharing project with other Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS) pension funds in England, Wales and Scotland. This is a legal requirement under the LGPS governing regulations.
South Yorkshire Pensions Authority, an LGPS pension fund, hosts the database. The data held on the database is processed under the Data Protection Act 1998 and other relevant legislation.
Reason for the database
When a member of the LGPS dies, administrators need to know if they had periods of LGPS membership elsewhere in the country. This is to ensure that the right death benefits are paid to the deceased member's dependants.
The LGPS is locally administered. Each local pension fund has its own membership records. It can be difficult to tell if a member has other LGPS records and where these are held. To comply with the requirements, there is a national database. It helps funds to check if their members have pension records in other LGPS pension funds.
What else the database is used for
An extract of the membership information in the database is shared with the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP). The DWP runs the Tell Us Once (TUO) service. LGPS funds can join TUO. It is a service offered in most parts of the country for an individual to register a death. When a death is registered on TUO, the DWP informs the LGPS fund. This means that the member’s records are processed quickly.
Data we share
For each member of the LGPS, the database contains a short entry containing:
- National Insurance number
- a number to show the member’s membership status, for example, pensioner
- the last calendar year that the membership status changed, and
- a 4 digit number for the LGPS pension fund where that member's record is held.
Who we share data with
We share the data with:
- Other LGPS pension funds. These are public bodies named in legislation as administering authorities of the LGPS
- The Tell Us Once service. An extract of the database containing members' National Insurance numbers is securely shared with DWP each month.
How long this data is kept
For as long as
- the relevant regulatory requirements remain, and
- the LGPS participates in the Tell Us Once service.
If neither of the above apply, the data sharing stops.
Opting out of data sharing
As this data sharing is partly undertaken to comply with a legal requirement, it is not possible for scheme members to opt out.
If you have a query
To find out more about this data sharing or if you have any questions, please contact us.