Pension Advice needed, SERPS

whats_that_skippy

Hi

I think I posted this in the wrong place initially, so here goes again

My husband opted out of SERPS? when he was about 18, he's 36 now. He doesnt really understand why he did it, he was just told it was a good thing to do at the time.

The SERPS? payments are going to a company called Windsor Life and the last statement he received said its transfer value was £11.581.

He's a teacher now, and has a pension with "Teachers Pensions". My question is can we move the money from Windsor Life and put it in to his TP, and secondly would this be a good idea?

MikeJones_2

Can he?
Get your husband to Contact the Teachers Pension Scheme and they will be able to guide him through the options available, where any still exist.

It may be, though, that he is 'time-barred' if he has been a member of the TPS for a number of years. Most Public Sector pensions schemes will permit a transfer-in but usually require this to be done within a set period of time of joining the scheme.

There is some very basic info on the TPS website:
Transferring from another scheme

Should he?
The TPS won't be able to give your husband advice on the merits of whether a transfer-in would be in his best interests. They can only tell him whether he can rather than should he.

For that you will need to contact an Independent Financial Adviser, although finding one to offer advice upon what your husband wants may be difficult unless you are prepared to pay a fee.

The issues are complex, often onerous and usually very time-consuming as for example, it may take around 10-20 hours of an IFAs time to obtain, collate and verify the information from the insurer, the TPS and your husband. And then there is report, reason why letter and recommendation to do.

So, you can see that even posting a query in this forum, how limited our replies can often be.

Hope this helps.

Mike Jones

I work in the field of Pension Education and Pension Guidance in the UK. I am a current member of the Specialist Pensions Forum as well as being a Voluntary Adviser for The Pensions Advisory Service. I work with scheme members, employers, trustees, scheme administrators and advisers on most things to do with employer sponsored pension schemes. The views expressed by me in this thread are my personal opinions. You should seek professional advice from an appropriately experienced and qualified adviser. I am not an IFA.

EdInvestor

whats_that_skippy wrote: »

The SERPS? payments are going to a company called Windsor Life and the last statement he received said its transfer value was £11.581.

Are you sure the NI rebates are still going into Windsor Life? It's more likely they are now going into the teacher's scheme. The TP should be able to tell you a) where the rebates are going now and b) whether the accumulated fund can be transferred in.