Eaton UK Retirement Benefits Plan

Nige64

I hope this is the right section to post?
Anyway, about 3 years ago I received a letter from the above company saying I had a pension and was I the correct person and please could I reply. This I did giving all my details on the supplied form as in my 20's I did indeed work for the Eaton group (Eaton Yale & Town) the lock makers, albeit for a couple of years only, this would have been in the 1970's. I heard nothing further from them.
Today I received a letter from the Government Department for Works & Pensions saying they were forwarding to me a letter and a form to fill in asking if I was who I was.......? If the letter was meant for me, I had to fill the details in and send it off to Eaton at PO Box 545 Redhill, Surrey RH1 1YX. If I was NOT the person, to send everything back to the DW&P. I've already sent them my details 3 years ago......
Is this Eaton UK a scam? I am 64 and will receive my state pension in about 6 months time.....I don't want to be conned out of anything and don't trust letters of this nature.....
Thanks
Nige

jamesd

DWP operates a scheme that helps pension plans get in touch with their plan holders when they have somehow found themselves using wrong contact details. Just fill in the form and send it off. DWP doesn't work with known fraudsters in this way. No surprise that firms might lose or not use details from three years ago and DWP's mechanism ensures that the letter from Eaton really went to the right person.

Nige64

Thank you James.......I don't really know if I am the right person or not LOL

atush

Well if you worked for them, you probably are.

And it will mean a nice little bit of extra cash/income.

jamesd

You probably are the right person. They would normally have told DWP your NI number and date of birth as well as your name and the last address they had for you. DWP can cross-check all of those before forwarding the letter to you. DWP don't let them do more in the letter than ask you to get in touch.

The DWP is only willing to forward things where the news is good, not for things like debt collection and definitely not for scammers.

Eaton are probably trying to contact you now because 65 or 60 might have been the normal retirement age for the scheme and their records will show that you're close to that age so they will soon have to start paying you. Pension rules require them to try to get in touch, not just ignore it and hope you don't ask.

Nige64

Thank you for all the replies, I appreciate it. You hear about so many scams, you don't know what to believe nowadays,
Thanks again
Nige

hyubh

Nige64 wrote: »

If the letter was meant for me, I had to fill the details in and send it off to Eaton at PO Box 545 Redhill, Surrey RH1 1YX.

That will be an address for Willis Towers Watson, a big company where one of the things they do is outsourced pensions admin. Googling suggests they are indeed the administrators for Eaton:

http://www.eatonukrbp.co.uk/documents/EUK-Booklet-11.pdf (p.3)

LXdaddy

I can confirm that Willis Towers Watson are indeed the administrators for the Eaton UK Pension Plan.

There has been a recent change within Eaton's UK Pension plans (two plans have been merged into one.

If you worked for them in 1970 and were in your 20s then you are probably around the normal retirement age for the scheme. So they may well be trying to contact you about that as a deferred member.

xylophone

Have you obtained a new state pension statement?

https://www.gov.uk/check-state-pension

jamesd

You might also want to make the between £180 and £720 a year after tax that is available to those between 55 and 75 via making pension contributions then taking the money out soon after. Even if not working any more.

Deferring the state pension is also a great way to get extra guaranteed income, paying something like twice as much income for the money spent as an annuity.