Help!!

geekpee

I paid into a company pension for over 20 years,sadly the company closed therefore 'freezing' my pension,how do i go about retrieving accrued funds to either re-invest or if possible get a cash payment,i am 46 therefore unable to start claiming the pension

jancee_2

Go here:

http://www.thepensionservice.gov.uk/atoz/atozdetailed/pensiontracing.asp

to find out who is now administering the scheme and then call them. Then you will need to find a suitable scheme to transfer the funds into.

geekpee

i am looking into transferring my 'frozen ' pension and was wondering if there are any companies that offer a cash back incentive to entice new business.

dunstonh

geekpee wrote: »

i am looking into transferring my 'frozen ' pension and was wondering if there are any companies that offer a cash back incentive to entice new business.

The term frozen suggests its a defined benefit scheme. Seeing as most providers require an IFA to sign off on these now before they accept them and that the FSA assume a position of them being bad advice unless proven otherwise, I think its highly unlikely you will get anything other than published fees.

It would also breach HMRC rules.

MikeJones_2

Hi geekpee,

quote=geekpee: I paid into a company pension for over 20 years...sadly the company closed therefore 'freezing' my pension...

When did you cease to be an active scheme member though?

If, as dunstonh suggests, you are in a defined benefit scheme (e.g. such as a final salary scheme, which is one type of defined benefit scheme), your pension is unlikely to be 'frozen': rather it is more likely to be preserved.

Depending upon when you ceased to be an active member date will depend on how your pension 'revalues' between the date you ceased to be an active member and your Normal Retirement Date (NRD). 'Revaluation' is simply the term which describes increases given to your pension before your NRD (as opposed to the term 'escalation' which describes increases given to your pension after you have taken it).

Since the 1980s successive Governments have introduced legislation which has protected preserved pensions against the effects of inflation (at least in part, if not entirely). The more recently you ceased to be an active member, the better the protection in terms of revaluation, although some schemes (such as public sector pensions) have always protected benefits.

quote=geekpee:... how do i go about retrieving accrued funds to either re-invest or if possible get a cash payment,i am 46 therefore unable to start claiming the pension...

Do you have a specific motivation for considering a transfer (e.g. you mention a cash-back)? Perhaps you thought your pension was indeed 'frozen' when in fact it is likely to receive increases in the period up to your NRD? Has this made you reconsider?

Some employers who sponsor defined benefit schemes (if indeed that is what you have) are offering Cash Incentives and/or enhanced Transfer Values where members wish to consider transferring out.

If you want to read more about this see:
Cash incentives to transfer – Preserved Members

Finally, if your pension is a defined benefit scheme, you should read up on how secure the pension is particularly because you have said that the company is 'closed'. Take a look at the Pension Protection Fund's website. If there's anything you don't understand, come back and post more.

Hope this helps.

Mike

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.