A member’s pensions and benefits are calculated using the information provided by you, so it’s vital that this information is accurate and up to date to ensure they receive their correct entitlements.

Using their My Pension Online account, members can check their Benefit Statement and service history.

If, on a member’s record, there are any ‘service gaps’ that don’t make sense, we ask them to check the ‘Employment History’ section first to see if there’s a reason for the gap (opted-out, non-pensionable service, etc.).

If they still believe the gap shouldn’t be there, we advise them that they’ll need to speak to the relevant employer for that service period and ask them to update their record accordingly.

This information can be provided either on your MDC/MCR submission or by completing a TR28 template which is available on the Employer Portal. (Please be aware that if the service is for a re-employed member, submitting it via TR28 will also generate a Certificate of Re-employment for you and the member to complete). This will then be reflected on their service history and Benefit Statement.

If you no longer hold historic service, we’ll require the below documentation to be provided by the member to you, for you to be able to submit the information over to us via MDC/MCR or using the TR28 template:

• Their payslips from that time period (we require the payslips rather than the P60).

Or, in the absence of payslips:

• A Subject Access Request (This link opens in a new window) (SAR) letter from HMRC

If your establishment became an academy and the service is for a period whilst the school was under the Local Authority, the service would need to be provided by them.

We’ve informed members that if the establishment they worked in was an Independent school which is now closed, they’ll need to forward this directly to us.

We’ve reminded members of this so that any service gaps can be updated as soon as possible to prevent further issues arising in the future.