Pension advice for a novice please

moomi

Hi, I paid into an employer pension scheme for about 10 years & in that time the IFA changed & then the company who provided the pension too. The last I know it was royal London. Anyway I haven't paid into this for couple of years as I left this company. Annual statement says it's no longer a group pension but an individual plan now. The current plan transfer value is £28039.26. It says the plan is paid up.

I now have a pension through local government & I pay 5.5% while they pay 29.1%. Do I do anything with the old pension amount by way of transferring it to the new one or leave it where it is?

Any advice greatly appreciated 😊

xylophone

You could explore the possibility of transfer and whether it would suit your plans.

http://bma.org.uk/practical-support-at-work/pensions/faq-local-government-pension-scheme


"Can I transfer benefits in to the LGPS?
Yes. The LGPS can accept transfers of pension rights from other LGPS pension funds, other pension schemes who use the public sector transfer club (like the NHS pension scheme) and from other registered pension schemes who do not operate the public sector transfer club."

You would need to see what your paid up policy offers by way of retirement benefits and look at the charges.

You might prefer the flexibility of the earlier retirement your paid up policy offers.

You might want to look at the possibility of transferring to a Personal Pension where you could continue to make contributions if you wished.

If you did want to consult an IFA https://www.unbiased.co.uk/



Transfers of pension rights must be requested within 12 months of joining the scheme. Your employer has the discretion to extend this time limit.

You cannot transfer a pension credit (as a reult of a divorce settlement) into the LGPS.

moomi

Thank you xylophone, it's been more than 12 month since i joined the new scheme. I'll read your advice & have a better look. Cheers

atush

Yes you could maybe transfer in, but when do you plan to retire?

If you plan to retire before the scheme age (going up t 67 I think?), then keeping a DC pension running (and adding to it when you can) is a good idea. As you c an use this money to live on if you retire early, leaving your DB pension until the age when it is not reduced.

You might like to transfer it to a personal pension or Sipp though.