PENSIONERS AND DEPENDANTS

GMP EQUALISATION

The Group Trustee wrote to those members who are affected by Guaranteed Minimum Pension (GMP) equalisation in August 2024 about some changes they are proposing to make. The changes are linked to the GMP part of your pension, and a project called ‘GMP equalisation’, which all pension schemes like the Group have to carry out.

The Group Trustee is required to run a consultation with members about the planned changes. The consultation will run from early August to 4 October 2024.

On this page, you will find key dates as well as information about what’s happening and what you need to do. You will also find details of how to provide feedback on the proposal.

Further information:

Read an overview of what’s happening.
Watch a short video which explains what’s happening.
Find answers to your questions.
Read a copy of the letter issued to affected members here and the Q&A provided with the letter, here.

Please refer to the letter you were issued in August for the key dates to be aware of. This is the current timeline and may be subject to change.

Early August 2024:

Letters issued to affected pensioner and dependant Group members explaining the proposal.

Early August 2024:

Consultation on GMP proposal starts.

4 October 2024:

Consultation ends.

Mid-October 2024:

The outcome of the consultation is published on the Group website.

Early 2025:

If the GMP proposal goes ahead, benefit statements will be issued. This will show any change to your Group pension after addressing the historical GMP inequality.
New pension payments start.

This section provides more information about GMP equalisation/conversion.

The two elements at the heart of these pension changes are:

Addressing the inequality
Following the outcome of a High Court legal case, UK pension schemes such as the Group need to address an inequality relating to some historic GMP benefits. (See ‘What is GMP?’ below.) This may affect your Group pension, although your Group pension will not reduce as a result of the changes.
Simplifying pensions
We are also proposing to convert all GMPs in the Group into a different form of pension, which will enable us to simplify the Group’s benefit structure.

Click here to watch a short video for an overview of the GMP issue and the steps we are proposing.

What is GMP?

Part of your Group pension is GMP, which is a substitute for part of the old State Pension arrangement. You would have received this part of your pension from the Government had you not been a member of the Group.

Please see the GMP Q&As for answers to your questions.

Consulting with you

As part of the GMP conversion process, the Group Trustee is required to consult with those members affected.

This is your opportunity to ask questions and provide any feedback.

The consultation period will end on 4 October 2024.

Please see 'Contacts' below for how to provide feedback during the consultation.

After consultation

Following the consultation, the Group Trustee will decide whether to move forward with GMP conversion. We will publish a news update on the website to confirm the outcome of the consultation. If you’re registered online, we’ll email you to let you know when the outcome is available.

Please make sure you understand the proposal and what this might mean for your Group pension:

The letter, which was sent to affected members, explains the proposal, the key dates in the process you need to be aware of and the arrangements we have put in place to consult with you. If you’d like to remind yourself of the detail, please click here to read a copy of the letter.
The letter included a ‘Questions and Answers’ document that contains more information about GMPs and the Group Trustee’s proposal. In particular, we would like to draw your attention to questions 6 and 7. These explain how your pension may change if the proposal goes ahead.
There’s a short video about the GMP issue and the steps we are proposing.
There’s an online GMP Q&A providing more detailed information.

Remember

Your pension may increase as a result of addressing the historical GMP inequality, though any increase will likely be modest. No one’s pension will reduce as a result of GMP equalisation.

Where next?

Check for key messages, reminders and the outcome in the ‘Latest news’ section of the Group website.

Consultation feedback

Before a decision is made on how to proceed, the Group Trustee is consulting with you about the proposed method for addressing the historical GMP inequality. This is your opportunity to ask questions and provide any feedback on the proposed approach.

The consultation period will last for around 60 days and ends on 4 October 2024.

The Group Trustee will consider carefully all relevant comments received about its proposal during the consultation period.

The Q&A sent to you in August and the online GMP Q&A are designed to cover common questions that affected Group members may have about GMP conversion and GMP equalisation. However, you may want to contact us by 4 October 2024 if you:

wish to provide feedback on our proposal; or
have specific Lifetime Allowance or pension tax issues:

Email: ngridgmp@railpen.com
Phone: 0808 196 3694
Post: National Grid Electricity Group of the Electricity Supply Pension Scheme, Railpen, 2 Rye Hill Office Park, Birmingham Rd, Coventry CV5 9AB.

General queries

If you have a general query about the Group or your benefits, please get in touch with Railpen using the usual contact details: https://ngeg.nationalgridpensions.com/contact-us/