Previous company pension- still waiting for transfer, is this normal?

Chick

Hi there,

I have posted this previously, just wandered if anyone has some suggestions as to what to do next...

I left my previous employer nearly 6 months ago and have phoned them several times to send me the relevant forms so I can either transfer the pension payments to my new company's pension scheme or withdraw the cash (I think I will withdraw the cash as I really don't know if I believe in pensions yet- am 27)
However, after more than 2 months waiting, I've not received the forms and after another phone call earlier in the week I have been told it's still waiting for it to be 'cleared' though am not quite sure what that means.

My question is- how long can my previous employers hold on to my pension payments without giving a sufficient reason or correspondance to justify why this is the case? Is there anywhere I can go to get some help with this- I'm guessing no as it's between me and the previous employer.
Also, the company is very big and well-known so it's not as if they are not used to dealing with leavers' pensions.

Thanks in advance for any suggestions, Chick

Pal

A company must send you a statement of your preserved benefits within two months of your leaving the company - this is a statutory requirement. You may have already received this.

They also have effectively three months and two weeks from the date of your request to provide you with a transfer value statement. If they haven't done this, write to them explaining that you will report them to the Pensions Regulator for non-compliance with disclosure deadlines unless you receive your statement within five working days.

In their defence, many administration companies are in a complete mess these days as they are attempting to introduce new rules in time for 6 April when they were only finally published by the Government last week. However six months is long enough to wait so you should chase them up.

Chick

Hi Pal,
Thanks for the response- I'll definitely do those things, at least I know more about where I stand regarding time scales & what exactly I can come back at them with.
Half the problem is not knowing what they are obliged to do/what I can do within my rights to speed them up.
Cheers!