Within four months of your staging date, you may need to declare this scheme’s registration numbers. Here is formal information (pdf format, 191Kb).

• Oxfordshire County Council Pension Fund’s Contracted-out References under March 2016 are S2700165T and E3900002R. Contracting out ceased April 2016.
• Oxfordshire County Council Pension Fund’s Pension Scheme Registration number is PSR10079154.
• Oxfordshire County Council Pension Fund’s Pension Scheme Tax reference number is PSTR00328822RP.

The Pension Regulator will also ask you for your employer number. This is the number code the Oxfordshire Fund uses to recognise you as an individual employer for our administration. It is the number to use on your MARS return.

There is also formal scheme and Oxfordshire Pension Fund information.

If you have any doubts please contact Pension Services.

Employer actions

• Ensure you notify Pension Services of your staging date and re- enrolment date. We can plan in the extra workload this action produces
• Consider if designations or admission agreements need to be changed. Supply copies of the employee notifications you intend to use to Pension Services
• Tell us about newly enrolled members and those who 'opt out.' Send this information on the MARS return in the appropriate month (read more about MARS and CARE pay information )
• Supply the opt-out forms to Pension Services 
• Remember anyone with option to 50/50 section of the scheme should be treated as if not a member and re enrolled into the main scheme
• Employees who have Fixed Protection or Enhanced Protection will need to be aware of re enrolment implications. The member should be aware of their own tax and pension saving situation but may supply  HMRC certification. Ask the member to record those details too with Pension Services.

Notes for completing the MARS return

The MARS notes follow from the results of your actions as an employer, which must comply with the statutory requirements of the Pensions Act 2008.

• LGPS membership information for eligible jobholders
• Members form to give notice to opt out of the scheme

Essential contacts

The primary information source for workplace pensions is the Pensions Regulator website.

LGA have recently reviewed their guides and sample notices to help employers with the LGPS and automatic enrolment links. 

Templates

The Pensions Regulator can also provide resources including sample letters. However many of their templates are written with a defined contribution scheme in mind. These templates may not adequately describe LGPS as a defined benefit scheme.