If you have a relatively small pension in payment, you may be able to exchange your regular payments for a one-off cash lump sum. This is known as trivial commutation.
Your pension must be in payment before you apply to take your pension as a one-off lump sum.
If a one-off lump sum is paid to you it will extinguish all your rights and any future rights in the scheme. The one-off lump sum payment is made through the pension payroll and is taxable. It is paid once. There are no further payments.
We must use factors provided by the Government Actuary’s Department (GAD) for calculations. These factors can change from time to time.
Requirements
In order for us to investigate the possibility of a trivial commutation of your pension you must meet the following criteria:
- you must be aged 55 or over, or any age if you retired on ill health grounds. However, if you have a Guaranteed Minimum Pension (GMP) you must be aged 60 or over for a woman and aged 65 or more for a man
- you must take one-off lump sums in respect of all your Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS) benefits in England and Wales, not just Kent.
If you stopped paying into the scheme before 1 April 2008
If you left the scheme before 1 April 2008, we must value the total of all your pension pots, both LGPS and non-LGPS. If these did not exceed £30,000 we may be able to pay a one-off lump sum. The value of your pension pots is the total capital value and not the annual amount of the pension payable.
If you stopped paying into the scheme after 1 April 2008
If you left the scheme after 1 April 2008, the criteria is still available however, you have an additional option as we can value your LGPS benefits only. Provided the capital value of these does not exceed £10,000, we may be able to pay a one-off lump sum.
How to apply
The rules governing whether you can take trivial commutation are complex. It is not always the best choice for everyone therefore due consideration needs to be taken before electing for this option.
If you believe you may be eligible and you are interested in exploring this option, complete the trivial commutation request form (PDF, 177.6 KB). We assess your eligibility and contact you with further details within 20 working days of receipt of your completed form.
If you are in receipt of a dependant’s pension as a spouse, civil partner, cohabiting partner or child of a deceased member, the requirements and procedure are different. Please do not complete the form and contact us instead.