Very confused re pension. Slightly complex history

dini_2

I have a query that really requires a bit of a crystal ball.

Ok, I qualified as a nurse in 1992. Worked in the NHS until 1996.
Opted out of SERPS in 1992 (I think it was 1992 anyway. Didnt think anything else of it. Was young and stupid)
I appear to have contracted to Standard Life. (Stopped and started small fund then) and now have some shares in Standard Life, from which I get an annual dividend of about £90 quid or so. Found this out a couple of years ago.
Worked as nurse in Jersey Channel Islands from Sept 1996 to Dec 1998 . Paid into Jersey states pension during that time. (Didnt do aything with that money)
Came back, worked or private hosp for a while, but didnt pay into pension again until June 2000 when I started work in the NHS again.

I then had a 6 month gap in pension contributions in 2003 when I left to travel for a while.
I have paid full contributions since then.

I have now been offered a new job, better salary, better conditions etc in a private hospital. I have no idea about the pension scheme though except is is apparentl competitive..
I am 46 on next birthday and really am woandering if I should stay where I am. Conditions are frankly rubbish, I work stupid hours of unpaid overtime, but the salary is good, and I know the pension is excellent.

I wonder whether a 10k salary increase and start paying into a private pension scheme is going to be worth it if I aim to retire at 60/65 bearing in mind how good the NHS pension is.
I could tentatiavely keep it going by still doing a couple of shifts a month as a bank nurse in the NHS, I think.

I know, its an impossible question, and no one can decide my life for me but the pension thing has me wondering.
What do ou think?

JoeCrystal

You really need to find out just how much they are paying into private pension schemes. The rule of thumb is that in order to get 2/3 of your final salary requires 25%-30% of your salary for forty years and that is very imprecise as it varies massively.

dini_2

Thank you. I will ring them tomorrow to see if I can get details.
All I know is its a final salary scheme and meant to be a good one.
I clearly wont have 40 years of contributions though.

atush

But ask the NHS for a statement so you know how any years you have there? In total with all that shifting abt? The number of years plus your current salary will give you an idea of the amt ot pension you can expect from that. Which you can count on, when using 20 yrs in the new pension to decide what your total would be?

Also, with a new increased salary I would also look to Cash and S&S isas each year to make your retirement more comfortable and more flexible.

Jersey, did you get 2 years in their Public Service pension, or just the normal Jersey State pension? If the latter, you wont get anything for that as I think you need at least 5 years in it to get a reduced pension.

dini_2

It was the Public Employees Contributory Retirement Scheme (PECRS), I have no idea if its transferable.
(I had a head in sand mentality with finances for many yrs.)
Just in the last stretch of DMP with payplan. Once thats done, on current salary, I will have 6k or so to invest per year.

atush

Contact them and find out how much ti will be, and get a statement. With 2 years + you should be able to claim it.

But you would have also paid into the normal Jersey old age pension like all those working there, and for that you won't get anything as there is a min number of years.

dini_2

Well, I contaced Jersey, I have contribtions from Oct 96 to Dec 98. Once I start new job, I can transfer it over.

I rang new place, they have a final salary stakeholder (No idea what that means) pension managed by Wentworth and if you pay 3% and upwards, they match it up to 5%. I can obviously contribute more than 5% if I want to.
I rang my current work (NHS) pensions office and they will send me an estimate.

Anyone know anything about stakeholder pensions?

warwicktiger

There is no such thing as a final salary stakeholder !!

I think you seriously need to sit down face to face with an Independent Financial Advisor. It may cost a bit now, but you need to know where you are, and with all due respect I do not think you understand these things.

dini_2

Really? Thats what the HR person told me! She musn't have much more of a clue than me .
I dont want to sign any employment contracts without knowing what I am getting into.
I will talk to an adviser, but I wanted to find out what I needed to find out first if you see what I mean.

atush

Don't transfer your Final Salary Jersey pension. It may only be two years worth, but it will pay you an index linked pension for life from Scheme retirement age.

If you want to transfer it, do so to another FS plan (ie if you rejoin the NHS?). Not to a paltry stakeholder.

dini_2

Are stakeholder pensions that bad?
You see, this is why I am a bit worried about leaving the NHS.

Juat spoken to HR person again. It is a Stakeholder pension. Managed by Wentworth and run by Aviva.
Would I be mad to move? (Crystal Ball time again)

I will have an extra 6K a year when I get to the end of the DMP and I will get a payrise of 10k. So I will have extra cash to play around with and invest elsewhere.