Opt out of SERPS/S2P?

salty_seadog

Thanks again jamesd,
need to do some more research on pensions, i am just about to start a pot with the merchant navy pension fund so i have at least something but at least i have 30-33 years to make it happen.

KiNeL

One point to bear in mind about pension plans of the late 80's/early 90's is that many were written with valuable guarantees sometimes unimaginable in todays terms.

Without digging it out and quoting precise numbers I have one from a previous employer which whilst only worth a tad under 2k PA comes with a guarantee of annual rises of some 6% or the RPI whichever is the greater so check into yours and be aware of what you might be giving up by before cashing it in.

nesssie1702

I was a member of LGSS from 1992 - 1999 when I worked for local authority. I got a job with a private company in 1999 and I paid into a private pension for just over two years. I opted out of SERPS at this time.

When I moved jobs in 2001, I foolishly didn't join the pension scheme there, as I wasn't allowed to from day 1.....

Anyway, I moved back to Local Govt in 2006 and have been paying into LGSS since then and have also transferred the value of my private pension into the LGSS Fund.

My question is, should I contract back into SERPS (or its current day equivalent?) and what's the best way to do this?

EdInvestor

nesssie1702 wrote: »

My question is, should I contract back into SERPS (or its current day equivalent?) and what's the best way to do this?

The LGPS is a contracted out scheme so you can't contract back in.

whats_that_skippy

Hi

First posting, so I hope this is in the right place.

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.

Should it be something that we should be worried about and should he opt back in? I dont know if it makes any difference but he went into teaching a year and now has a pension with them. Can we transfer the money into the teaching pension?

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

EDIT - I have just read back a bit over the thread, and I now understand that his teaching pension means that he is opted out anyway....so would it be a good idea to move the money from Windsor to his teaching pension?

londoner08

Sorry to 'glom' on to someone else's thread, but I can't figure out how to start one so I can ask a question! Any tips?

dunstonh

londoner08 wrote: »

Sorry to 'glom' on to someone else's thread, but I can't figure out how to start one so I can ask a question! Any tips?

What is it you want to start?

EdInvestor

londoner08 wrote: »

Sorry to 'glom' on to someone else's thread, but I can't figure out how to start one so I can ask a question! Any tips?

To start a ew thread

Click here to go to the main pension forum page and then click on "New thread" in the top left hand corner.

clarkerobinson

whats_that_skippy wrote: »

Hi

First posting, so I hope this is in the right place.

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.

Should it be something that we should be worried about and should he opt back in? I dont know if it makes any difference but he went into teaching a year and now has a pension with them. Can we transfer the money into the teaching pension?

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

EDIT - I have just read back a bit over the thread, and I now understand that his teaching pension means that he is opted out anyway....so would it be a good idea to move the money from Windsor to his teaching pension?

Hi My first posting as well

Your husband probably won't be able to transfer his money into the Teachers Pension Scheme as it only receives incoming transfers during the first 12 months (and often normally from other similar schemes) see link below

http://www.teacherspensions.co.uk/resources/leaflet4.htm

Windsor Life are a company which now mainly 'mops up' other defunct companies so the chances are that your husbands pension came from a company they took over. Probably the most important thing to do is check where the money is invested and see what the investment performance is like. Windsor Life have about 1,400 fund links and all the ones I have checked for new clients over the past 12 months have been below average. So he should consider switching within his existing policy to a better fund manager if that is possible and if not perhaps switch to another pension provider company. Independent Financial Advice is probably required for the latter otherwise you could end up in a dead end policy with a direct selling bank or insurance company. (By dead end I mean restricted investment options and a poor choice of fund managers).

£11,581 doesn't sound much for 18 years so probably doesn't represent the full period. He may have been contracted in by the insurance company automatically at some stage.

Hope this helps.

HH62

I'm confused by all of this, I've read a few posts on the thread but am still mixed up.
Here's my info
I contracted out in 1988 when I joined my company pension scheme. Paid into that scheme for 18 years, left the job 3 years ago. I haven't made any further pension contributions since.
I just checked my NI situation online and it confirmed that I did opt out.
However I have 26/30 of my years for basic state pension. I'm currently not working, but will be looking for work in January. When I find a permanent job what do I need to do about a pension? Get a private one through an IFA or go with the company pension if they have one? Also should I (can I) opt back in? Any point in doing this? I have 19 years left before retirement age.
Divorced female if it makes any difference.