Hiya. I am NOT a financial adviser but a personal finance journalist. I should stress that this is my personal opinion and you should still consult an independent financial adviser. However, I believe I have the answer to this question.
There is, basically, something called a "Transfer Club" between different public sector pension schemes. This allows you to transfer between one scheme and another and your previous years of service in the old scheme are counted as if they were part of the new scheme. Both the LGPS and NHS Superannuation schemes form part of this club.
If the benefits from both schemes are the same, the added years are identical. If, however, the scheme you left had less benefits, your benefits may be scaled down slightly - strictly speaking you get less time "credits" from the old scheme into the new one.
Is it worth moving on an "inter-Club transfer"? Generally, yes. If you are earming more now than you were with the LGPS scheme, your accrued years in the new NHS scheme will be more beneficial. Also, if you leave your pension in the LGPS scheme, its future benefits would be frozen at the level of pay received when you left. In addition, your future NHS sinal salary benefits would be paid on the basis of fewer years of service. So you would lose out twice over.
One exception to transferring is if you were earning vastly more while in the old LGPS scheme than you are now and are likely to be in future under the NHS scheme - it is then in your interest to freeze your preserved LGPS benefits at that higher level of salary.
Another reason NOT to switch might be if you are close to retirement in respect of the LGPS scheme and want to take your pension now while continuing to work in the NHS. This is allowed, but by transferring under Club rules, that may delay your retirement date.
I should add a warning: if you want to take part in the Club transfer scheme, it must be done within 12 months of joining the new NHS scheme. Applications are restricted to the first year of service to ensure that the receiving scheme is not obliged to accept an unreasonably large liability at some point in the future. Scheme do have some discretion in this, but I have no knowledge of the NHS scheme position.
So if you are close to that time limit, get your skates on and talk to an adviser. Also contact the LGPS and the NHS schemes. their websites are easy to Google and they have contact numbers there. Good luck.
Nic Cicutti
Editor, Moneysupermarket.com