What is it and what can I do with it ???

thebullsback

Hi All,well I am still waiting for a reply from Aviva to the question I first sent them via email on the 31May 2015.After many emails via social@aviva I am STILL waiting for a reply after 37working days.

xylophone

Have you tried TPAS?

http://www.pensionsadvisoryservice.org.uk/

thebullsback

will try on Tuesday I have tried once before but they closed on weekends.
Also after I have been told by Aviva (again) that there reply to my question will be emailed me to tomorrow.
I actually feel quiet uneasy as to the way I have been treated by Aviva over this matter ......It seems to me (and I may be wrong here)that Aviva are determined not to answer "the question"

neilvw

I have done a bit of stuff on a spreadsheet, and found that the transfer values are consistent with what would need to be invested now, at a growth rate of about 4.75% p.a., to buy an increasing annuity at age 65 with a 50% spouse's pension, using today's annuity rates and assuming the wife is three years younger. It works for both the GMP and excess transfer values.

The GMP is promised by Aviva to increase by 3% a year in payment; the rest by 5% a year. (Those are the capped rates in legislation, but I have found from experience in dealing with these things that the insurance companies sometimes promise the maximum, perhaps because "inflation-capped-at-X%" is too much of a faff to be doing every year of the member's retirement. EDIT: OR they insist on the maximum when buying out the scheme pension, and hiking the purchase price appropriately.)

What is really puzzling is the very small amounts of pension estimated at age 65. Usually an insurance company will choose to revalue the GMP at leaving by the statutory fixed percentage - and in the OP's case this would be 6.25% a year up to age 65 if (as he recalls) he left service around 1999 [6.25% is the rate for leaving dates between 1997 and 2002]. But that means his GMP was only about £75 a year on leaving! Someone can correct me, but it seems too small even for one year's service.

The excess over the GMP (i.e. the non-GMP part) is revalued with RPI capped at 5% a year, which obviously would have to be a bit of a guess for the next nine years. Say RPI rose by 3% a year on average over the 25 years (1999-2024). That would be just over a doubling, making the excess pension at leaving service in 1999 about £175 a year.

Perhaps Aviva have messed up - or the OP had just one year's service on quite a low salary?

thebullsback

My wife is 60 in Oct. this year I am 56.
Wish I could say for sure where this Policy was funded .I was on what I would call decent money until redundancy in 1999.
Whilst with the company I paid in AVCs on top of normal contributions I also remember that on been made redundant I invested about a £1000 in to a pension pot with the Norwich Union.
Thank you all for taking time and effort to help me.

neilvw

thebullsback wrote: »

My wife is 60 in Oct. this year I am 56.
Wish I could say for sure where this Policy was funded .I was on what I would call decent money until redundancy in 1999.
Whilst with the company I paid in AVCs on top of normal contributions I also remember that on been made redundant I invested about a £1000 in to a pension pot with the Norwich Union.
Thank you all for taking time and effort to help me.

Thanks. So your wife is about four years older than you - it doesn't appreciably change the calculations.*

From what you say, I wouldn't be surprised if Aviva's records are wrong and the accrued pension at leaving in 1999 has been mistaken for the deferred pension revalued up to 2024.

* if your wife's age has been already taken into account by Aviva it would reduce the assumed growth rate (2015-2024) given in my post above to about 4.25% p.a. - because the notional annuity rate at age 65 would be higher. If you haven't given Aviva your wife's date of birth then they probably would have assumed she was three years younger than you (a standard assumption).

thebullsback

Well another deadline set by Aviva has passed with yet again no reply to my question so a complaint will be lodged some time this week.
On another note my wife has found letter from Aviva dated February 2013 its a statement like the one in my OP but has the figures for Feb.2013 .Wonder if this helps any spreadsheet wizards to say what is going on .

Your guaranteed pension will be payable from your normal retirement date (NRD) which is 05 Feb. 2024
there is no fund associated with these benefits and consequently no annuity rates apply.The current transfer value to another approved pension arrangement is £13,052.81 of which £0.00 is the value of pre-88 GMP and £5,803.27 is the value of post -88 GMP. These values are for illustration purposes and are not guaranteed.

Does this help any ?
Again thank you all for time and effort in assisting me .

xylophone

Have you tried TPAS?

Can you lay your hands on the statement of deferred benefits you would have received when you left the original scheme?

thebullsback

tpas say they dont help with problems I dont know what to say to them with regard to this situation . my problem as I see it is that I have a doubt about the figures regarding my policy.
If I was certain I had the correct information regarding my policy then I could then make a desision on what too do with it but at the moment I am not sure what I have.
Sorry for been negative.

thebullsback

I ment complaints not problems.