• You will need a cash equivalent transfer value (CETV). This is the amount we would transfer to your new scheme in exchange for the pension benefits you have built up with us.
• We will send you the first CETV free of charge - these are guaranteed for 3 months with a recalculation not necessary provided the option to proceed is made within 3 months and the transfer effected within 6 months . If you need another CETV within 12 months, there will be a charge of £250 plus VAT).
• You can request a CETV by:
• logging onto your online mypension account where you can request a quote using the secure messaging facility.
• using the secure Contact Us form.
• calling us on 0300 303 6160 and speaking to a member of staff in our customer centre.
• writing to us at Oakwell House, 2 Beevor Court, Pontefract Road, Barnsley, S71 1HG
• Use our live chat facility
• We can only provide you with an estimated CETV based on your current pay if you are still paying into the Scheme at the time of your request.

• If you are thinking of transferring your pension benefits out of the LGPS you should be aware of pension scams, where people may be tricked into handing over their pension pots. Millions of people fall victim to scams every year. Please follow the link LGPS member site to find out how to protect yourself against scammers.
• Make sure that you carefully compare the pension benefits that you are giving up with what your new scheme is offering you.

• You should be able to do this if you ask your new fund within 12 months of joining them. You should contact your new fund to find out what their process is. It is important that you inform your new fund of any other LGPS accounts whether you want to transfer or not, as failure to do so may result in the wrong options being given.
• Extensions can be given to the 12 month rule but are at the discretion of your employer and administering Fund.
• You will also have an opportunity to tell us of any new employments when you receive the leavers declaration form that will be sent out with your early leaver options.
• If you have a deferred refund entitlement this must be combined with the new period of membership under scheme rules and a refund will no longer be an option.
• If you have a deferred benefit, you have the option to combine or keep separate any periods of membership - you should be aware that in the absence of any decision scheme rules will determine whether benefits are kept separate or aggregated.

The receiving scheme will need to be a scheme listed in the transfer regulations set out below:

• A public service pension scheme (these are schemes established by a public authority for civil servants, armed forces, health service workers, teachers, judiciary, police, firefighters, and local government workers).
• Public sector schemes such as the teachers' or police pension schemes accept transfers on what is known as a club transfer basis which allows for the use of the same factors although they do provide different benefits to those of the LGPS. If you want to transfer your SYPA benefits to another public sector pension scheme on this basis you must apply to transfer them within 12 months of you joining their scheme.

You can decide if you wish, to request a transfer of your LGPS benefits to another pension scheme that does not fall into either of the two above categories. If you do, your application will be assessed against the two conditions set out in The Occupational and Personal Pension Schemes (Conditions for Transfers) Regulations 2021 as follows.

First condition: The receiving scheme will need to be a scheme listed in the transfer regulations set out below:

• a public service pension scheme (schemes established by a public authority for civil servants, armed forces, health service workers, teachers, judiciary, police, firefighters, and local government workers) and you are outside the 12 month club period
• an authorised master trust which you can find on The Pension Regulator website to find out how to protect yourself against scammers.
• an authorised collective defined contribution (CDC) scheme.

Second condition: Evidence or information.

Where the first condition is not met and the receiving scheme is not one of those described in the first condition, the second condition must be met for all other transfer requests and we must request evidence or information to help demonstrate:

• the employment link in the case of an occupational receiving scheme, or
• either the employment link or the residency link in the case of an occupational qualifying recognised overseas pension scheme (QROPS), or the residency link where it is not, and
• any other evidence or information that we consider relevant to the transfer. 

Transfers can be made to a Qualifying Recognised overseas pension Scheme but require evidence of the employment link in the case of an occupational receiving scheme, or

• Residency
• Employment link
• Evidence that have been a tax resident in the country to which the receiving scheme is based for a minimum of 6 months up to the date of the transfer request.

• SYPA staff are not registered to give financial advice but it can be difficult deciding whether to transfer is the best option for you, so we recommend that you consider getting help from a Registered Independent Financial advisor.
• You can get free and impartial money advice at Pension Wise or get help with finding a registered financial advisor at Unbiased to find out how to protect yourself against scammers.
• If you are considering a transfer to a defined contribution scheme that offers flexible retirement benefits, you will need to get financial advice if the transfer value (excluding AVCs) is £30,000 or more. You may still wish to get the help of a financial adviser even if the value of your benefits is below £30,000.
• The adviser must have permission for the activity of ‘advising on pension transfers and pension opt-outs'. For further information on how to check this, see The Pension Regulator’s DB to DC transfers and conversions guidance. As you will be giving up guaranteed, inflation proofed benefits, it is especially important to obtain financial advice if you are looking to transfer to one of the following types of pension schemes, due to the investment risks:
• A personal pension plan.
• A stakeholder pension scheme.
• A buy-out insurance policy.
• An employer's money purchase scheme.

• You will have the option to transfer these rights along with your main scheme benefits (subject to your new provider accepting such transfers), or transferring your AVC’s independently of main scheme benefits, or indeed not transferring them at all.
• Where AVC's are transferred separately to main scheme pension benefits you must have ceased making contributions to the AVC policy.
• AVC's cannot be transferred if you are already in receipt of your main scheme benefits from SYPA.
• Where there is more than 1 LGPS AVC policy then all policies must be transferred to the new scheme regardless of which fund they are held in.

It is important to be fully aware of the benefits that are being given up before making a decision to transfer out of SYPA. Things to consider are:

• Benefits whilst deferred and in payment are fully inflation proofed in line with Consumer Price Index (CPI) increases
• Dependant benefits are automatically included for all qualifying dependants - see the Pensions for Partners page for more detail
• Lump sum death grants may be payable upon death under certain circumstances - see the Lump Sum Death Grants page for more detail
• A decision to transfer once made cannot be reversed and once completed you and all dependants will lose the entitlement to any LGPS benefits.