Our website has lots of information that might help you find an answer to your question. Here is information on some of the most common questions from our members.
1. UK Budget announcement on Lifetime Allowance and Annual Allowance tax
In the latest UK Government budget on 15 March the Chancellor announced that:
· the Lifetime Allowance will effectively be abolished.
· The Annual Allowance will increase from £40,000 to £60,000.
These changes will come into effect on 6 April 2023.
If you have applied for your retirement and believe you are impacted by these changes, you can contact us.
2. Opting in or out of a pension scheme or requesting a refund
Opting Out
If you submit an Opt Out application and indicate that you wish to receive a refund of your contributions, you have to meet the following criteria:
· under 2 years' calendar service after 6 April 1988;or
· under 5 years' calendar service before 5th April 1988; and
· you have not transferred previous pension rights into the scheme from a personal pension arrangement
If you do not meet this criteria, your refund application may be rejected.
Refund
If you have requested a refund application and have not had a reply, It can take up to four months from when your application is received to calculate your refund. We will contact your employer for information and we may also have to contact the National Insurance Contributions Office for a Contributions Equivalent Premium (CEP) figure. We are unable to process any refund until we have all this information.
3. Retiring soon and not heard from us yet
If you have already applied for your pension and have not received a letter or email from us, please be aware you may not receive your pension details until immediately prior to your retirement date, or in some cases, if your retirement date is early in the month, a little after this date. Even if you haven’t had your paperwork, your pension payment will be made from your retirement date.
To submit an email enquiry, please select from the options below:
NHS Enquiry
* Back dated pay award: If your pension is already in payment and you are contacting us to find out if you are affected, your employer will notify us of any increase and we will recalculate your pension if necessary. You should contact your employer with any queries you may have.
Email us
Please select from the options below:
Phone us:
Our telephone number: 01896 893000
Monday: 9am to 5pm
Tuesday: 9am to 5pm
Wednesday: 9am to 1pm*
Thursday: 9am to 5pm
Friday: 9am to 4.30pm
* Please note: our phone lines are available on Wednesday’s until 1pm.
Email us: sppacontactus@gov.scot
Write to us:
Scottish Public Pensions Agency, 7 Tweedside Park, Tweedbank, Galashiels, TD1 3TE
Teachers Enquiry
* Back dated pay award: If your pension is already in payment and you are contacting us to find out if you are affected, your employer will notify us of any increase and we will recalculate your pension if necessary. You should contact your employer with any queries you may have.
Email us
Please select from the options below:
Phone us:
Our telephone number: 01896 893000
Monday: 9am to 5pm
Tuesday: 9am to 5pm
Wednesday: 9am to 1pm*
Thursday: 9am to 5pm
Friday: 9am to 4.30pm
* Please note: our phone lines are available on Wednesday’s until 1pm.
Email us: sppacontactus@gov.scot
Write to us:
Scottish Public Pensions Agency, 7 Tweedside Park, Tweedbank, Galashiels, TD1 3TE
Police Enquiry
Email us
Please select from the options below:
Phone us:
Our telephone number: 01896 893000
Monday: 9am to 5pm
Tuesday: 9am to 5pm
Wednesday: 9am to 1pm*
Thursday: 9am to 5pm
Friday: 9am to 4.30pm
* Please note: our phone lines are available on Wednesday’s until 1pm.
Email us: sppacontactus@gov.scot
Write to us:
Scottish Public Pensions Agency, 7 Tweedside Park, Tweedbank, Galashiels, TD1 3TE
Firefighter Enquiry
Email us
Please select from the options below:
Phone us:
Our telephone number: 01896 893000
Monday: 9am to 5pm
Tuesday: 9am to 5pm
Wednesday: 9am to 1pm*
Thursday: 9am to 5pm
Friday: 9am to 4.30pm
* Please note: our phone lines are available on Wednesday’s until 1pm.
Email us: sppacontactus@gov.scot
Write to us:
Scottish Public Pensions Agency, 7 Tweedside Park, Tweedbank, Galashiels, TD1 3TE
Pension Sharing on Divorce (PSOD) Enquiry
To submit an enquiry, please email the PSOD team.
Local Government Enquiry
Scottish Legal Aid Board Enquiry
To submit an enquiry please email the Scottish Legal Aid Board Team
Scottish Parliamentary Pension Scheme Enquiry
To submit an enquiry please email the MSP Team
Freedom of Information Enquiry
Media Enquiry
Telephone Number and Postal Address
Phone us:
Our telephone number: 01896 893000
- Monday: 9am to 5pm
- Tuesday: 9am to 5pm
- Wednesday: 9am to 1pm*
- Thursday: 9am to 5pm
- Friday: 9am to 4.30pm
* Please note: to concentrate on staff training and development, our phone lines are only available on Wednesday’s until 1pm.
Our postal address
Scottish Public Pensions Agency, 7 Tweedside Park, Tweedbank, Galashiels, TD1 3TE