Refund of contracted out S2P

mariegriffiths

I was with a firm for less than 2 years a few years back. At the time I had the main pension contributions refunded but the Protected Rights kept in the fund about £1000. They have written to me to encourage me to request a refund with a tight deadline. If I don't then "the value of the account will be transferred out of the Plan into policy select by the Trustees in 2015"

I don't like pensions and distrust companies.
Is it better to take the refund and run and what tax will I face?
Keep in in a risk them putting it into a dreadful fund.

Are there guaranteed minimum payments that I might be missing out on?

How does this affect other pensions I have?

jamesd

So far as I'm aware you have no right to a refund of the contracted out payments because any refund would go to HMRC.

You should tell them to transfer it to one of your other personal or defined benefit pensions, after checking that that one will be willing to receive the payment.