i want to opt out of employer pension scheme

paulpeter

Need some advice. I do not want a pension. Crazy maybe but true.
My employer insists on contributing to a pension scheme on my behalf.

Can i transfer it to something that resembles a pension - who they would find acceptable but that offers more scope for flexibility - ie i can access the funds periodically,. Ideally i would have them transfer their contribution directly into a savings type account.

Any advice appreciated.

CLAPTON

Basically no; pension rules are that we can't access the funds unitl at least 55 or later according to the pension scheme rules.

If you don't want a pension surely you can opt out of the free money from your employer.

mitchaa

paulpeter wrote: »

Need some advice. I do not want a pension. Crazy maybe but true.
My employer insists on contributing to a pension scheme on my behalf.

Can i transfer it to something that resembles a pension - who they would find acceptable but that offers more scope for flexibility - ie i can access the funds periodically,. Ideally i would have them transfer their contribution directly into a savings type account.

Any advice appreciated.

So you get pension tax relief and then go and blow it yearly on your summer holiday:rotfl:

The world doesn't work like this.

If you want to give up free money from your employer then that is upto you.

Crazy, yes.

dunstonh

Need some advice. I do not want a pension. Crazy maybe but true.
My employer insists on contributing to a pension scheme on my behalf.

So, you dont want the free money that the employer is giving you?

Can i transfer it to something that resembles a pension - who they would find acceptable but that offers more scope for flexibility - ie i can access the funds periodically,. Ideally i would have them transfer their contribution directly into a savings type account.

No. It wouldnt be a pension then and wouldnt benefit from the tax and NI savings.

paulpeter

The pension is meagre and will only prove to hamstring me for any state assistance which still happens to be available - if any. I do not earn alot - probably never will. I am not career or money minded and plan to spend my money as a earn it and enjoy it. I plan to get to the grave with nothing as you can take it with you. Thats logical no?

Andy_L

paulpeter wrote: »

Ideally i would have them transfer their contribution directly into a savings type account.

Your employer could give you the pension contribution as cash (less tax relief) but are under no obligation to do so.

hugheskevi

The pension is meagre and will only prove to hamstring me for any state assistance which still happens to be available - if any. I do not earn alot - probably never will. I am not career or money minded and plan to spend my money as a earn it and enjoy it. I plan to get to the grave with nothing as you can take it with you. Thats logical no?

Consider that your plans will leave you subject to the whim of government for income, who for example may well decide not to increase assistance by much for a decade or more if finances are tight, are likely to increase the age at which you get assistance to 70 or more, and could let the amount you get decline in real terms to very small amounts (despite what you may hear, the amount of means-tested assistance to pensioners isn't very high, and has been much lower in the past).

The current minimum amount you get is about £135 p/w, plus rent and council tax paid. Any savings about £10,000 will reduce the amount you receive.

Even if you work until deep into your 60s, you can still expect not to work for about the last twenty years of your life, so once you retire you can expect to live in that manner for a long time. Living on the minimum isn't a great deal of fun, especially early in retirement when you will still be quite active.

Even if the pension is meagre, you can take pensions worth less than £18,000 as a lump sum (Trivial Commutation).

And life changes. Are you certain your views won't change in the future (marriage, children, etc)? It is one thing not to put money into a pension pension, another to turn down free money, which I suspect at some point in the future you may bitterly regret.

If you are still determined to opt-out, there may be a possibility of your employer agreeing to pay you slightly more should you opt-out as Andy L says. This is likely to be an option only if you work for a smaller company (bigger companies are less likely to be flexible like that, but it is still possible).

paulpeter

Thanks for that it does make sense but...
I do have children and i am married and i have seen very many people who have saved and "done the right thing" turned over in their later years by charging policies, nursing home fees, etc- i dont intend to be completely dependant upon the state but savings i do have will be unknown by the powers that be and in 5, 10's and 20's in a saftey deposit box. The accumulation of wealth through a life time should not be so high on everyones agenda - nest eggs are one thing but .. .. Thankyou all for your advice unfortunately it is probably wasted on me.

dunstonh

I do have children and i am married and i have seen very many people who have saved and "done the right thing" turned over in their later years by charging policies, nursing home fees, etc

I have been an adviser for over 15 years. I havent seen many people who have doen the right thing and turned over in their later years.

The vast majority of the population dont go into local authority care. Its in single digits. So, statistically, you are banking on an event that has a single digit chance of being likely. You wouldnt want to wish local authority care on anyone. However, if that is what you want with your life, then fair enough.

i dont intend to be completely dependant upon the state but savings i do have will be unknown by the powers that be and in 5, 10's and 20's in a saftey deposit box.

So, you want to commit fraud.

Thankyou all for your advice unfortunately it is probably wasted on me.

It appears so. Some people plan to succeed. You seem to be planning to fail and be poor and possibly end up with a criminal record.

vbm

Employer: Would you like some free money ? We can invest it for you, it will grow free of most taxes and provide you with an income when you are too old to work ?

PaulPeter: Nope, ta. I would rather forgo that opportunity. You see wealth aint my thang. I prefer poverty in old age and being a burden on my kids. Besides cat food is getting tastier all the time.

lvader

A friend of mine turned down the company pension thinking it wasn't worth it as he didn't intend to stay long. He ended up staying with the company for around 5 years missing out on around £27000 of free money. :eek: