Pensions - Data Sharing
The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR)
As a result of the changes in data protection law, the LGA has produced a ‘Memorandum of Understanding’ which we have distributed to our LGPS scheme employers:
General Data Protection Regulations: Memorandum of understanding September 2021
If you have any questions regarding this document please telephone 0116 305 6944 or contact us via email: pensions@leics.gov.uk
A Fair Processing Notice has also been produced for our LGPS members and their dependants. The notice explains why we (Leicestershire County Council, the Data Controller) need personal information and how we will handle it.
The types of personal data we hold and process about our members can include:
- Contact details, including name, address, telephone numbers and email address.
- Identifying details, including date of birth, national insurance number and payroll reference numbers.
- Information that is used to calculate and assess eligibility for benefits, for example, length of service or membership and salary information.
- Information about a member’s family, dependants or personal circumstances, for example marital status and information relevant to the distribution and allocation of benefits payable on death.
Local Government Pension Scheme National Database
A Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS) national database has been developed by the Local Government Association (LGA) so that LGPS funds can share pension data to prevent the duplicate payment of death grants. This follows statutory changes to scheme rules in April 2014 which prevent funds from paying more than one LGPS death grant payment in respect of some scheme members with multiple pension scheme records to their nominee or beneficiary.
Sharing this data is necessary to allow pension funds to comply with the rule change and is designed to protect our scheme members by avoiding a potential overpayment that would need to be repaid. The Leicestershire County Council scheme is required by law to protect the public funds that it administers and must always ensure that all monies are paid correctly.
The data will also enable pension funds to be able to participate in the ‘Tell us Once’ service operated by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP), which allows family members or representatives to report a death to most government organisations with just one notification.
Leicestershire County Council and the LGA place great importance on the security of personal data and controls are in place to restrict access to this information.
National Data Matching Exercise
Again this year the Leicestershire County Council is working with the Cabinet Office, to counter pension fund and other types of fraud. There is a statutory obligation to submit data to the Cabinet Office’s "National Fraud Initiative" in compliance with the Local Audit and Accountability Act 2014. Data protection legislation requires NFI participants to tell individuals that their data will be processed. For this initiative we are providing details of pensioners so that they can be compared to information provided by other public bodies. Essentially this is an exercise to ensure the proper spending and effective use of public money. Once the exercise has been completed all documentation is destroyed. More information on the National Fraud Initiative can be found on the Leicestershire County Council website.