Transferring 1 company pension to another??

arsenalfan_3

Hi,
I am a newbie please be gentle!!
Hubbie has 21 years pensionable service in J Sainsbury pension scheme,which he can take when he is 65.Now working for Royal Mail and currently has 2 years pensionable service.have applied for a transfer value but don't know what to make of the figures! Would probably help for anybody to see the figures so here goes-

Transfer value of J Sainsbury pension is £28834.78(21 years service).2 years ago the annual deferred pension at 65 was £4661.32.
Royal Mail extra service bought from the above-10 years,£2813.07 extra at age 60.

Sainsburys pension cannot be taken until 65 unlike Royal Mail where you can retire on full pension at 60.

On first sight,I thought that it was better to stay with JS pension as the figures certainly look better,but then I thought about the benefits of having full pension at 60.Am I being too simplistic here and missing something???

Any help and advice appreciated!
Thanks,Trina.

clairehi

No, you arent being too simplistic.

If you retire at 60 its a double whammy - you have 5 years less contributions and 5 years more pension that needs to be paid for by the fund.

In theory, the transfer value given should enable you to buy equivalent benefits in another scheme. Or so we were told. Doesnt always work out perfectly though..

When does DH actually expect to retire, realistically?

arsenalfan_3

Thanks for the reply-well he cannot see himself delivering letters past 60,so would probably retire at 60 then get a part time job to supplement his pension.That's what makes the decision more difficult,to take the smaller pension at 60 and wait for the JS pension to kick in at 65,or have all the pensions at 60(but rather reduced value).Why does this have to be so complicated??!