Changes to Travis Perkins Pension

lawley1010

My OH has worked for Travis Perkins for over 5 years and recently received some paperwork regarding changes to his pension. I am not very good at understanding these things but what I can gather is that if he transferred to the new scheme his contribution would increase from 3.5% to 8% and the employers contribution would decrease to just 1%. There is an option to transfer to new scheme but keep his contribution at the same as he is paying now (3.5%) but it doesnt make it clear what the employer's contribution would be. We cant afford to increase his contribution as it would mean paying more than double. Does anyone have any idea about this and can explain the changes to me in simple terms, we have to decide what to do in the next few weeks. Please help!

dunstonh

I am not very good at understanding these things but what I can gather is that if he transferred to the new scheme his contribution would increase from 3.5% to 8% and the employers contribution would decrease to just 1%.

Are you sure that is right? There is no logical reason for an employer to increase the employee contribution like that on a money purchase scheme. Effectively, as long as they comply with current legislation as a minimum, the employee contribution doesn't really matter.

There is an option to transfer to new scheme but keep his contribution at the same as he is paying now (3.5%) but it doesnt make it clear what the employer's contribution would be.

That needs to be found out.

Does anyone have any idea about this and can explain the changes to me in simple terms

Without seeing scheme details it is not really possible to say. You need to give us the facts. Not guesses or what you think it is. Take a look at the scheme booklet. Also, when changes like this happen, there is usually a support service offered.

lawley1010

Thanks for your reply. I have double checked the paperwork. At the moment he pays 3.5% and the employer pays 6%, the new scheme would mean he would pay 8% and the employer would remain at 6%, so his contribution is more than double. As said there is an option to transfer to the new scheme but remain on his current contribution but it doesnt say if the employers contribution will remain the same, so we will need to check this.

xylophone

https://www3.savingforthefuture.com/TravisPerkinsClarity/Documents/Booklet%20Core%202011%20February%20-%20Final.pdf
https://www3.savingforthefuture.com/TravisPerkinsClarity/pages/Static/StaticHomePage.aspx

http://ukgroup.standardlife.com/content/news/new_articles/2012/220812TravisPerkinsAppointsSLForMasterTrustScheme.xml

Is there any information here?

mania112

Yeah so if he stays at 3.5% the employer will drop to around 1%, sounds about right.

I guess its just a way to help the company reduce their liability (because the staff won't want to increase their contributions).

It's unfortunate, but the company are tying to cut costs. Reducing pension contributions is better than offering redundancies.

pensionae

I am Simon Naylor and I have responsibility for this pension project at the Travis Perkins Group. The changes you refer to relate to preparations for the introduction of Auto Enrolment. The proposed changes to pension arrangements are dictated by individual circumstances, I would encourage your partner to contact the Travis Perkins Pensions helpline number listed on the letter you received so that your questions may be addressed.
Thank you.