Old work pension should I transfer?

DanFathers

My wife has an old alliance and Leicester pension which has been frozen since she left that employment 10 years ago.
She wants to start contributing to a pension again but her new workplace don't need to legally comply till 2016 and then she has been told she doesn't work enough hours for a workplace pension. She currently works 19 hours a week. Earns £130 pw.
Can she / should she transfer her old pension to a new private one and contribute or should she start a new private pension and keep them separate?

greenglide

Does this mean that she worked for Alliance & Leicester or she has a pension plan with them?

If she worked for them it may be a defined benefit (final salary) scheme. This does matter very much.

If it is a defined contribution scheme then she could keep them separate or combine them depending on the costs of the two schemes and whether there are any guarantees associated with the A&L scheme.

DanFathers

She worked for alliance and Leicester, and no longer pays anything for this pension but gets the occasional letter, she is not sure about the final salary bit, don't really know how this works if she left so long ago

Thanks

greenglide

So try this http://www.alliance-leicester-staffpensions.co.uk/

and she needs to read the "the occasional letter".

Google is your friend

atush

Yes. Please do read correspondance before coming here with Q's as at least you can be more specific.

Sounds like a FS scheme, so the best going and she should leave it there. But you must get an idea of how much ti will pay out.


Int he meantime, your OH gets paid 130 a week- gross or net?

If gross, she earns just under 6800 a year. She could put that entire amt into a pension or any fraction of it and it will get bumped up by tax relief (ie 6760 would become 8450 in a pension).

She could open a personal pension online thru HL or Cavendish, and then invest in a range of funds or trackers. Or she can visit an IFA who will do it for her (at a cost).