Questions re a CSC Computer Sciences LTD deferred pension.

Normal retirement age for scheme = 65.

I have yearly personal benefit statements ( Lucas )

Also have a " SUMMARY OF BENEFITS " the scheme at a glance, which was printed in January 1995.

Also have an earlier version printed March 1989.

There is a lot of info in them, anything specific you after ?

Also going back to the earlier version of the TRANSFER ACCOUNT ( June 90 )

WHAT THE TRANSFER ACCOUNT OFFERS YOU:

6: You will have the absolute guarantee that your pension rights from previous jobs will at the very least equal the pension you would have earned from the State Earnings Related Pension Scheme ( SERPS ) If you transfer these pension rights into a Personal Pension you lose this guarantee.

( That same statement is also present in the later version - August 1994 )

Hi again xylophone - appreciate your time you are putting into this matter :beer:

Yes the Lucas scheme was definitely " contracted out "

I found copy of the original form i signed when i joined it:

and the " 3% to Lucas Scheme - Contracted out " box is ticked.

( Lucas made a matching 3% contribution )

The other option was " Not in Lucas Scheme - Contracted in "

The scheme was Final Salary based, and had a " Value for Money Guarantee "

When you retire or transfer, the value of your benefits are tested to ensure they are always worth as much as your value for money account. This means you get the best of both worlds either:-

# A pension with a guaranteed link to your final pay, or

# A personal pension based on the full value of your own and Lucas contributions - with no deductions for administration, commission or shareholders profits.

I found a telephone number for Lucas Pension Dept, whether the number is still valid, if they are at same office, and if they would help me when i have been transfered to CSC scheme, i dont know.

Thanks again - i will look at pros and cons of transferring, but i was under impression that transferreing out of a defined benefits scheme was usually the wrong option ?

Actually not long off phone from Mercer, have asked for an up to date deferred statement, and also they confirmed my email was in their system pending a response.

I also called regarding the earlier https://www.gov.uk link you supplied - to try to find more info re Wheway scheme, but just on hold for ages.

Probably best if we " park this up" for time being, while awaiting response from Mercer.

Again i would like to thank you for your valuable input.

DJB

OK, firstly i would like to apologise for the ( unintentionally) piecemeal way i have added information to this thread -the paperwork was a bit chaotic is my only excuse

Right, I have discovered that on the yearly updates for the money purchase illustrations, from the Jan 2012 update, and the years before that there was a clear definition of the underpin & value for money account, which they seem to have stopped providing info for in subsequent updates.

From Jan 2012 update

Additional Voluntary Contributions (AVCs)

This statement refers to your benefits from any cash accumulation AVCs paid or transferred to one of the Scheme's investment options.

The value of your AVC account at 1 July 2011 - £8534.90

Your normal retirement date is - 2 November 2025

The estimated pension when you retire is - £524.00

Value for Money Underpin - protected rights and employee contributions.

This illustration refers to your Value For Money Underpin. It is not a forecast of your preserved pension at retirement.

Your account is credited each year with a notional rate of interest ( which may be negative ) that reflects the investment return on the Scheme's assets in each financial year.


Your value for money account at 1 April 2011 is - £5238.00

Your normal retirement date is - 2 November 2025

The estimated pension when you retire is £288.00 ***

*** This pension forecast relates to your Value For Money Underpin. Your pension when you retire will be the higher of the pension secured by your Value For Money Underpin and your preserved pension, The benefits from your AVCs are paid in addition.

So there we have it ( i think ? ) So all the confusion was caused when i received the letter from Mercer back in May 2014, stating that the AVC fund serves as an underpin to my GMP and pre 1997 amount, and thus cannot be transferred out seperately from your Scheme benefits......

And at the time i had to take an alterative approach and started taking another Final Salary pension 5 years early ( 55 rather than 60 ) so i could access the TFLS, which i wouldnt have done had i been able to access the CSC AVC fund......Hmmmmm