Help I feel swindled

sue139uk

I was never informed that i could have drawn my works pension at 55. I have been living off my savings only, as I was made redundant. Then I was told by the administrator that my pension would be reduced for each year before State Pension Age; that was a lie. I got two statements, 15 months apart, and it had only increased by about 1.5% in line with inflation. I am over 63 and have just taken it. However I have lost out on 8 years of income, for no gain - in fact I have lost over £30,000. Can I do anything? Thanks.

atush

You have been swindled by yourself. For not reading the information pack that came when you signed up to the pension.

It sounds like a dB/final salary pension. And yes, it is reduced for each year it is taken Before scheme age. If your scheme age is 65, then it would be reduced about 10% approx. But if it was 60, then you may have lost 3 years of pension income.

Since you left, it has been relvaluing higher each year by the inflation measure in t he Scheme booklet (perhaps your1.5% figure).

All this could have been helped had you asked here at age 55, or if you spoke to your HR team and the pension people. Or read your scheme booklet. Most are available online if you threw yours away.

Can you do anything? Not sure. But at least you are helping others to understand that they have to learn about their pensions before asuming anything,

tacpot12

Your pension trustees should have provided you with the information that you pension could have been taken and age 55. Had you asked about taking the pension at age 55 they would have then told you how much you pension would have reduced by - taking a pension before normal pension age always results in a reduction in the amount paid.

You probably have a claim against the trustees of the pension if you were really not told about this. The trustees will normally have a complaints process, and any regulator will expect you to have exhausted the scheme's complaints process before taking reviewing a complaint. So I would complain using the scheme's complaints process in the first instance. You should ask for the pension you would have taken to be paid now, with interest.

You claim will fail if the scheme can show that the information that your works pension could have been taken age 55 was made available to you, e.g. in booklets you may have received outlining the benefits of the scheme. If the information was given to you but you didn't understand what it meant, your claim will fail as you had the opportunity to ask about it.

How have you now found out that it could have been drawn early?

sue139uk

I never received any booklet about my works pension when I enrolled nearly thirty years ago. I have been in regular contact with the administrators by phone, and they convinced me to defer my pension. It is the administrator's policy to write to members when they are about a year before State retirement age.

sue139uk

I found out by chance listening to Mrs May on PMQ.

xylophone

You were in a defined benefits/final salary pension scheme?

You say that you were made redundant.

Normally when there is a redundancy situation the terms of pay off/access to pension etc are made very clear and full written information is provided to each employee concerned.

With regard to your pension, under the terms of some redundancies, if the employee is over a minimum age (which under certain circumstances where there was a "protected pension age" could be under 55), the scheme will take the strain and the employee will be permitted to take an unreduced pension immediately.

However, a more usual situation would be that if the employee were over a certain age, early access to the pension could be offered but there would be an actuarial reduction for each year that the person was under Scheme Normal Retirement Age which might or might not be the same as State Pension Age.

Presumably you did receive a redundancy payment and it was open to you to apply for JSA/seek other employment/apply for means tested benefits as appropriate?

Were you provided with a copy of your scheme booklet and full written information concerning the terms of your redundancy/pension access?

What was Normal Scheme Pension Age?

You say that you were misinformed by the administrator - have you any proof of this? Did you ever try to obtain a written reply to any query you may have made?

Have you checked your new state pension statement?

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

This would be wise as it seems that you were contracted out/have not been paying (or been credited (?) NI for a number of years.

Dox

tacpot12 wrote: »

taking a pension before normal pension age always results in a reduction in the amount paid.

Usually but not always. The employer might put their hand in their pocket to avoid the need to apply a reduction; or there may be a provision in the scheme's rules which waives the reduction if someone is made redundant aged at least 55 and draws their pension immediately.

OP, much depends on the information provided to you in the scheme booklet (which you will of course have read avidly when you received it many years ago and then re-read it at regular intervals, as absolutely everybody does...not) and, more importantly, at the time you were made redundant.

Early retirements are normally at the discretion of the trustees and sometimes employer consent is also needed. Given this all happened 8 years ago, can you still lay hands on the paperwork? If not, ask for a copy of the scheme's Internal Dispute Resolution Procedure and make a formal complaint using that, which puts the onus on the scheme to fish out a copy of what you would have been sent.

You may find it helpful to have a chat with TPAS before going any further: http://pensionsadvisoryservice.org.uk. Their help if free and impartial and they are well used to dealing with people to whom the world of pensions is a closed book.

Brynsam

sue139uk wrote: »

I never received any booklet about my works pension when I enrolled nearly thirty years ago. I have been in regular contact with the administrators by phone, and they convinced me to defer my pension. It is the administrator's policy to write to members when they are about a year before State retirement age.

They convinced you to defer your pension? That sounds as if you knew you could have taken it before now - or you took a decision not to take it early because you wanted to avoid the reduction factor?

Marine_life

sue139uk wrote: »

I have been in regular contact with the administrators by phone, and they convinced me to defer my pension

I am not clear here - how long have you been speaking with them? If they convinced you to defer then you knew you could take it? Or did i miss something?

sue139uk

xylophone: Yes I was in a defined benefits/final salary pension scheme.

I was made redundant voluntarily. I received a lump sum, but NO pension information. I budgeted for the lump sum to last until my State Retirement age. Planning finances has been a daily activity, as I had those savings I did not apply for benefits.

No, I was not provided with a copy of my scheme booklet. I did not know such a thing existed. I did have full written information concerning the terms of my redundancy, but not pension access.

I did try to obtain a written replies, but they could only offer me a statement which gave my pension at normal retirement age. Once I had signed the forms then they did write to say there is no financial gain in leaving my pension.

Yes I have often checked my state pension statement, and have it in writing, my SPA has increased twice to 66.

Deneb

sue139uk wrote: »

I found out by chance listening to Mrs May on PMQ.

And she specifically referred to your pension, or are you making an assumption?