Haringey atease 2016.indd

Spring 2016
Haringey Pension Fund — Keeping people in touch
Pension Payslips
At Ease is the bulletin to
keep you informed about
matters affecting the
Local Government Pension
Scheme.
Payslips are issued if your net pay
changes by plus or minus £1 in any
month. A payslip is always sent to
you in April and May so that you
can see the affect that pensions
increase and any tax adjustment has
on your pension. This only applies to
pensioner members resident in the
UK.
If your pension is being paid to you
abroad, you will need to tell the
Pension Team of any changes to
your bank account details in good
time. If your payment is returned by
the receiving bank, a penalty charge
may be made against the Council.
This charge will then be recovered
from you.
Pension Increases
Changing your home address or Each year the government
announces the rate of pension
Bank Account
If you change your address or bank
account, please let us know in writing
and in good time. Notice received
after the 15th of the month may be
too late for the payroll deadline. For
example a notice of change received
after the 15th July might not be
amended on payroll until August.
Payslips are not redirected by the
Royal Mail, instead they are returned
to the Council. Even if you are moving
away temporarily, and you have asked
the Post Office to redirect your mail,
then you should also inform the
Pensions Team. If you tell us when
you are returning to your permanent
address, we will continue pension
payments until your expected return.
If payslips are returned to us, your
pension payments will be suspended
and the payments cannot then be
released until the next available
payroll run.
Overseas Pensions Payments
To avoid delays in payment of a death
grant or survivor pension, the Council
will need to be provided with a death
certificate. For pensioners living
abroad this means that the next of
kin or personal representative must
register a death locally and in addition,
it should be registered with the British
Consul. By doing this, a record of a
death will be kept here in the U.K.
www.haringey.gov.uk
increases that can be applied to
Public Sector pensions including
pensions under the Local
Government Pension Scheme and
the Teachers Scheme.
The increases are set by HM Treasury
and are based on the rise in the
consumer price index over the
12 months to September 2015 which
this time round was a negative
figure of -0.1%.
However, you do not need to
worry about your pension which
is in payment going down. The
rules under which public sector
pensions are paid only refer to them
being increased by CPI, there is no
provision for them to be reduced.
Consequently there will be no
pension increase applied to your
pension this year but equally, there
will be no reduction made either.
Pension Payroll Payment Dates
(April 2016 to March 2017)
27th April 2016
27th October 2016
27th May 2016
25th November 2016
27th June 2016
21st December 2016
27th July 2016
27th January 2017
26th August 2016
27th February 2017
27th September 2016 27th March 2017
FINANCE
Lightbulb mythbusters!
Do common tricks to cut energy bills work?
Over the years you’ve probably
heard your fair share of surprising
tips on how to save energy in your
home. Perhaps someone told
you to leave your heating on all
day, or paint your radiators black.
Is this sort of advice accurate?
Here’s what the experts at www.
moneysavingexpert.com advise.
Q - Is it better to leave the
heating on low all day even when
you’re out, or put it on when you
need it?
A - Some people insist it’s better
to keep your heating on low all the
time rather than crank a set of cold
radiators into life in the evenings.
Others maintain that radiators
on all day stops the creation of
condensation in your home that
conducts heat to the outside.
However, both British Gas and the
Energy Saving Trust recommend
you just use the heating when you
need it, rather than leaving it on all
the time.
They point out that – even in an
insulated house – a certain amount
of heating is always leaking out
through doors, windows and walls.
Therefore if you keep the heating
on all day you are losing energy all
day too – energy that you’ve paid
for.
The answer is to turn the heating
on just when you need it. They
recommend
avoiding
the
thermostat, which turns itself on
to achieve a temperature target.
Instead, use the timer on your
system to ensure your heating
comes on at the time you need it,
to reflect your daily schedule.
Q - Is it worth using an electric
heater to heat a room rather than
the radiators?
A - Electricity is more expensive
than gas which makes electric
heaters one of the most expensive
forms of heating around. A much
better option, according to the
Energy Saving Trust, is a good gasfired central heating system with
thermostatic radiator valves so
you can control the temperature in
each room separately.
Q - Should I paint my radiators
black?
A - No. Keep them white.
Q - Should I stick silver reflective
panels behind them?
A - These do help reduce the
energy lost through walls, so yes
they are worthwhile, especially on
external, uninsulated walls.
Q - Leave lights and appliances
on, or turn them off after use?
A - This comes back to the total
energy being used every day in your
house – constant use will always
outstrip the power surge used to
turn something on. So turn off
lights you’re not using.
Q - Use a tumble drier, or air-dry
clothes in a warm house?
A - Electricity is an expensive
way to heat things, especially in
a dryer which takes a couple of
hours per load so it’s much more
energy efficient to air dry clothes
when your central heating is on.
This could cause problems with
condensation and damp, especially
in old homes and poorly insulated
corners. The National HouseBuilding Council suggests: ‘If you
need to dry clothes indoors, open
the window and close the door of
the room where the clothes are
drying, so moisture can escape
rather than circulate around
your home.’.
Q - Should you leave your
heating on if you’re going
away?
A - Water pipes bursting
in freezing weather will cost a
small fortune to replace. The
Energy Saving Trust therefore
recommends you leave your
heating on low during the Winter if
you’re going to be away. Pipes do
take a while to ice up, so it will be
enough to set your thermostat to
turn on at 15 degrees for a couple of
hours at night or if your thermostat
goes lower just set it to 5 degrees.
Q - Do chargers use electricity
when they’re plugged into the
wall but not into a device?
A - Many chargers draw energy
from the system even if they’re
not in use. There’s even an industry
name for this – vampire power! If
your charger is plugged in to the
socket but not to a device and it’s
warm to the touch then it’s using
power. Note, branded chargers are
usually more efficient than nonbranded ones.
So unplug chargers for phones,
laptops, tablets and games consoles
when you’re not using them to
charge, or switch them off at the
socket. In fact also stop leaving TVs
and other appliances on standby –
the typical household wastes £30 a
year in this way.
LIFESTYLE
Have phone, can travel
Essential travel apps in your pocket
Passport, tickets, suitcase…the
modern traveller also needs to add
smart phone to that list. Never before
has such a small item given you so
much punch on your travels. It’s a
map, translator and journaling facility
all in your back pocket making
journeys easy, cheap and fun.
Currency conversion
Communication
XE Currency is free, easy to use and
completely accurate as it uses live
currency rates. Downloaded more
than five million times to date.
Available on iOS (free) and Android (free)
Use WhatsApp instead of text
messages for free international
transfer of pictures, videos, sound
clips, GPS tags and text. A great
way to keep in touch with overseas
friends using a wi-fi connection or
your phone’s data package.
Available on iOS (free) and Android (free)
Here are just some of the 50 best
travel apps around as nominated by
TimeOut magazine. For the full list
see:
Route planning
http://www.timeout.com/cityguides/travel/50-best-travel-apps/
You may never look at the
world in the same
way again.
Weather
forecasts
WeatherPro is a
weather
forecast
for over two million
geographical locations. If
your geo locator is on it finds
where you are and feeds you
weather reports along with cloud
formations, atmospheric pressure, wind
speed and humidity. Rated as ‘accurate
to the point of clairvoyance’.
Available on iOS (£0.79) and Android
(£0.71)
Jetlag
Entrain is the scientific way to arrive
body-ready for your new time
zone. It takes your travel dates and
destination and tells you how to
adapt your circadian cycle in advance
by adjusting the lighting levels around
you during the day. Try it with JetLag
Genie which tailors you a personal
sleep schedule before you fly.
Available on iOS (free) and Android (free)
Emergencies
TravelSafe is an Android app
that could save your life. It’s an
international database of emergency
service numbers by country. The Pro
version (UK only, £0.99) also contains
embassy details should passports go
missing.
Available on Android (free)
Translations
Try Google Translate for unbeatable
language skills, especially the Word
Lens tool. You just point your camera
at a foreign word and it’s translated
on your screen.
Available on iOS (free) and Android (free)
Not on the TimeOut list, but
worth a mention… Navmii turns
your smartphone with GPS into an
international sat-nav for 85 countries,
with local maps and all for free.
Works on iPhone,
Android,
BlackBerry
and Windows
Phone. It
comes with
pre-loaded maps, route
planning, voice prompts,
driver scores, mileage tracking and
real-time hazard reporting. Once
loaded on your phone it has all the
data it needs to immediately pull up
routes, access maps and give you
travel info. It uses your phone’s builtin GPS to locate you and the app does
the rest automatically.
Available on iOS (free) and Android (free)
Photography
There are lots of great photo apps
available out there, however TimeOut
particularly rates Photosynth for
iPhone and iPad. This app lets you
create awe-inspiring panoramic shots
in an instant. Just choose your scene,
press the button and it does the rest.
Then upload these amazing shots
direct to Facebook. Android users can
use another free app called Panorama
360 and achieve the same results.
Available on iOS (free)
Contact and keeping us informed of
changes to your circumstances
Visits To The Pensions Team
We regret that we are unable to offer
individual face to face appointments
except in exceptional circumstances.
You should in the first instance contact
us via one of the options shown in the
Making Contact box. If an appointment
is necessary, a member of The Pension
Team will make arrangements with you
to visit the office.
Pensioner Representative
The AGM held at the Civic Centre on
22nd July 2010 appointed Michael Jones
as the Pensioner Representative for the
term of the current Council.
You can contact Michael by writing to the
Pensions Team or by email to
[email protected]
National Fraud Initiative
Under NFI rules, Haringey provides
details of occupational pensioners to
the Audit Commission, in order that they
can compare them with information
provided by other organisations to
ensure that:
• No pensions are being paid to anyone
who is deceased;
• Occupational pension income is being
declared by anyone who is claiming
housing benefit; and
• Anyone who starts work again after
their retirement remains eligible to
receive their pension.
Any indication of possible fraud
is investigated. All data is used in
accordance with Data Protection and
Human Rights legislation.
Any investigation is conducted in
accordance with all relevant statutory
and professional standards.
Previously, NFI was restricted to
the public sector, but private sector
organisations and especially private
sector pension providers, have been
requesting that they be included in
future data matching exercises.
Making
Contact
You can contact the Pensions Team
from 9.00am to 4.45pm
Monday to Friday.
Telephone 020 8489 1700
If you become re-employed in local
government or in an employment
covered by the Local Government
Pension Scheme you are required
by law to contact the pension
section in writing so that we can
make sure that you receive the
correct pension.
Similar rules apply to former
Teachers who must contact the
Teachers Pensions Agency.
If you are in receipt of Housing
Benefits and your financial
circumstances change, please
make sure that you contact your
Housing Benefits Department as
soon as possible.
Re-Employment
If you return to Local Government
or to employment under the Local
Government Pension Scheme, then
you are required by law to notify the
Council of the details. Notification must
be in writing to the address shown in the
Making Contact box.
Legislation
Legislation updates amending the
LGPS can be viewed on
www.haringeypensionfund.co.uk
Pensions Scams. Don’t get stung.
Email
[email protected]
Fax 020 8489 3986
Postal address
The Pensions Team
Haringey Council
Alexandra House
10 Station Road
London N22 7TR
• Pension Web Page
www.haringey
pensionfund.co.uk
• HMRC (Tax Queries)
0300 200 3300 (Ref 120/B31)
• Teachers Pensions Agency
0345 606 6166
• Age UK (Haringey)
020 8801 2444
• Pensions Service (DWP)
0800 99 1234
atease is published for Haringey Pension
Fund by Evolve. Neither Evolve nor Haringey
Pension Fund can accept responsibility for
the views of this newsletter’s contributions
and, although every effort is made to ensure
the accuracy of the contents, readers are
advised to take appropriate professional
advice before acting on the information or
advice in these pages.
Evolve
Unit 8
Woodcock Hill Estate
Harefield Road
Rickmansworth
WD3 1PQ
email: [email protected]
website: www.evolve-print.com
As you are in receipt of your pension the transfer out of your pension
to another scheme is not allowed.
Pension scams are on the increase in the UK with offers such as ‘oneoff pension investments’, ‘pension loans’ or ‘upfront cash’ all being
used to attract savers.
For most people, these offers will be bogus and those who take part will
probably lose their pension savings and may be subject to tax charges
for transferring out and making an ‘unauthorised payment’.
The Pensions Regulator has published new guidance to raise awareness
of pension scams. You can access this at:
www.thepensionsregulator.gov.uk/pension-scams
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