Serps money - what's the catch?

jamesd

You'll probably have the full basic state pension entitlement already and maybe a little additional state pension, so that would be your foundation amount for the flat rate. Years worked or purchased after the flat rate comes in increase that by 1/35th of the flat rate amount per year. With seven full years if the flat rate is £155 you could add up to £31 to your foundation amount. Enough to take you to around £144 a week if you only have the basic state pension entitlement but not to the full flat rate.

It'll take about ten years to get from the basic state pension only to the full flat rate. So you're in that time window when you probably don't have time to get all the way there.

ScoobyZ

jamesd wrote: »

The first thing to know about consolidating is whether the pension is defined benefit, like final salary or average salary, or not. It's not going to be possible to consolidate those as defined benefit pensions because the pension schemes wouldn't accept the transfer. Usually a transfer to defined contribution wouldn't be possible either but in some cases the transfer value can be high enough to make it worth doing. The catch for those transfer is the cost,which could be around a thousand Pounds per pension just to work out whether it looks like a good move or not.

OK thanks,

She has 3 small ones:

Prudential - value not know, will call them today.
Superdrug - £1265 in pot
Index (Littlewoods) £714 in pot

and
Cobweb - Standard Life (7k in 2007)
Plus her current company one - Standard life (26k)

Serps 36k

Only tiny pensions one offering about £40 a year Would ideally like to transfer to keep on top of it all. Not too fussed about calculations.

ScoobyZ

Just read the DB bit and heard someone explain on TV about DB / Savings types of mortgage so get it a bit more now.

I'm 47 and have a NHS Pension and a Boots Pension where they (Boots) had to put in an equalisation payment to allow me to draw down 100% at 60 (instead of 65) so won't be moving them

I remember contracting out at one point so I need to see if there is anything there.

jamesd

All of those look like pensions that she could combine because they all have individual pot values, so are defined contribution.

What I suggest she does is ask her current work one whether they will accept transfers in from others. They probably will and probably with no charge to do it. Then just ask for five transfer forms to fill in and get it done.

Before she transfers them she should ask each one that was started before the year 2000 whether there is a guaranteed annuity rate. It doesn't seem likely and When the answer is no, that's one to add to the transfer list. If she has questions about the process the Standard Life people are quite helpful on the pone. They can't tell her if she should do it, though, just help out with practical questions.

All of this is pretty straightforward, no need for an IFA just to get them all combined.