On joining you will be asked about any previous membership of a pension scheme you may have and to indicate whether or not you would like the fire and rescue authority to explore the possibility of a transfer of pension rights to the FPS.
The FPS can accept a transfer from:
- another occupational pension scheme registered with HM Revenue and Customs (this includes some overseas schemes), or
- a personal or stakeholder pension scheme
but will not accept a transfer of pension credit rights, i.e. rights based on a portion of the pension of a former spouse or civil partner as required under a pension sharing order on divorce or dissolution of a civil partnership.
Depending upon the type of pension scheme from which the transfer is requested, certain restrictions and time limits may apply – the fire and rescue authority will advise you.
An application for a transfer must be made in writing. The authority would provide you with an estimate of the benefits the requested transfer would "purchase" in the FPS. You should compare this with any pension options offered by your previous scheme and decide, within the time limits, whether you wish the transfer to proceed.
If you do have pension rights in some other arrangement but have lost contact with the administrators, the Department for Work and Pensions offer a free Pension Tracing Service. All pension schemes (including the FPS) have to be registered with them and the Tracing Service can help pension holders and/or their dependants trace "lost" pension rights.