Public sector defined benefit pensions in England and Scotland: legislation, outsourcing/TUPE protections, scheme governance, two-tier workforce, and LGPS asset pooling

Published by a LexisNexis Pensions expert

Practice notes

Public sector pension schemes

Public sector pension schemes deliver retirement benefits to public servants, including civil servants, teachers and NHS staff. Many operate on a defined benefit basis. While certain public sector employers provide defined contribution options, this Practice Note considers defined benefit arrangements only.

These schemes are grouped into local government and central government arrangements. Local government schemes are funded, whereas those in central government are unfunded. The local government family includes all Local Government Pension Schemes (LGPS).

The principal central government schemes are:

the Principal Civil Service Pension Scheme (PCSPS)
the National Health Service Pension Scheme (NHSPS)
the Teachers’ Pension Scheme (TPS)

Central government schemes also cover:

the Firefighters’ Pension Schemes
the Police Pension Schemes
the Armed Forces Pension Schemes
the Judicial Pension Schemes

There are also areas with ‘quasi’ public sector pension provision, such as parts of education, the charitable and not-for-profit sectors, and private operators working in these settings. These arrangements are outside the scope of this Practice Note. This Practice Note focuses on the main public sector pension...

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Ruth Tobias

Pinsent Masons

Ruth Tobias is a Partner in the Pensions team at Pinsent Masons LLP. She is a leading pensions expert advising trustees and employers of DB pension schemes and has extensive experience in this field. Ruth advises on all aspects of pensions law including equalisation issues, Pension Schemes Act 2021 requirements, scheme mergers, flexible appointment arrangements, section 75-debt related issues, pension sharing orders on divorce as well as buy-ins and buy-outs. Ruth is also a leading expert on public sector and ‘quasi’ public sector schemes. She regularly advises on fiduciary duties, non-financial investment considerations, public sector outsourcing, TUPE transfers and public to private transfers in relation to the LGPS, the NHS and the PCSPS schemes, among others.She particularly enjoys keeping trustees on their toes by providing interactive trustee training on a wide range of pensions-related topics....

Hayley Stevenson

Pinsent Masons

Hayley Stevenson is an associate in the Corporate Tax team at Pinsent Masons LLP. She has experience of advising on a variety of non-contentious tax matters, including property tax, pensions tax and employee share schemes, with a particular focus on corporate transactions across a variety of sectors. ...

Web page updated on 21/05/2026

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