Help I feel swindled

Silvertabby

xylophone wrote: »

The Civil Service pension had an age 60 NRA, as did the TPS and the NHS (could be 55 for special classes).

And didn't the Police Scheme/Fire Service Scheme/Armed Forces used to allow for even earlier retirement on full pension?

Different schemes, different rules - even in the public sector. Mr S and I have been drawing our Armed Forces pensions since our early 40s (no actuarial reductions).

Silvertabby

sue139uk wrote: »

xylophone: In April, when I had signed to get pension, the administrators wrote saying the scheme's overall NRA for the works pension is the end of the month in which you reach age 65.

Then if you had taken your pension from 55, it would have been heavily reduced for early payment. That's why the scheme administrators advised you not to take early payment.

Marcon

Silvertabby wrote: »

Then if you had taken your pension from 55, it would have been heavily reduced for early payment. That's why the scheme administrators advised you not to take early payment.

They won't have advised OP, I trust!

chiefie

sue139uk wrote: »

xylophone: I expected to be able to retire on full pension at State Pension age, which I knew was increasing.

I have a State Pension statement for this year, and will look it out.

I am absolutely certain that when I accepted redundancy and hence left the scheme that I was not given a statement of deferred benefits.
Is there any information about your scheme on line?

To the scheme administrators you just left the company before normal retirement date. When I left my company i didn’t get a statement either - you just get the benefit deferred until retirement.

tacpot12

sue139uk; I'm afraid Dox has answered your question (and mine). You were told that you could take the pension before the normal scheme age, but you decided not to because you were told that it would pay you less money. They did not persuade you, you decided, based on the information they gave you.

When the administrator that you that pension would be reduced for each year before the normal scheme retirement age this was not a lie. The two statements you received 15 months apart showed you what your pension will at the normal scheme retirement age. Pension statement never show you all the possible payouts for the range of early retirement scenarios that exist for you because there are so many - most schemes actually take into account the number of months early that you are retiring as well as the number of years. So some retiring 5 years early will receive slightly less than someone retiring 4 years and 11 months early. They would have to show over a hundred scenarios for you, so they never do. They just assume that you know that you can claim your pension any time (that the scheme rules allow), and assume that you will look up or ask what the reduction will be. (Some schemes publish their redution tables online).

Your other colleagues had the same choice and decided to take the lower amount of money early. I think you will have great difficulty persuading anyone that you have a valid complaint, unless you can perrsuade the scheme trustees (not the adminsitrators who have changed) to confess that you were not ever told that the scheme allowed you to take the pension from an age that was earlier than the scheme's normal retirement age.

Also, you have not really lost out financially. Your pension, when it is paid, will be much higher than your colleagues, and when you receive rises for inflation they will be on your higher pension; so you will receive more money in absolute terms. You might reasonably say that you will lose out if you don't live as long as your colleagues, but this is part of the decision you took. If you didn't consider this then, you should have.

You will also not convince anyone that you lost out in not receiving the lump sum because you chose not to receive it when you could have.

Your best option now is to consider whether you want to claim the pension and lump sum now or continue to defer it to the normal scheme retirement age.

Your situation is a classic example of a time when you should have taken some advice from someone knowledgable. If necessary, you should have paid for the advice.

xylophone

In April, when I had signed to get pension, the administrators wrote saying the scheme's overall NRA for the works pension is the end of the month in which you reach age 65.

Then taking your pension at age 55 would have involved accepting a substantial actuarial reduction and that would have been for life. If you had chosen to commute part of the pension for a lump sum then the effect of such a reduction would have been more severe.

You have chosen to draw it at age 63, presumably with a modest actuarial reduction?

xylophone

Your pension, when it is paid,

The OP has now brought the pension into payment at age 63 - see post 1 and post 41.

It is virtually certain that she was contracted out for the years she was in this pension scheme and as far as I can gather she has not paid or been credited with NI for the past eight years - it would be worth her while to obtain a new state pension statement to check her entitlement and see whether she can improve it.

xylophone

To the scheme administrators you just left the company before normal retirement date. When I left my company i didn!!!8217;t get a statement either - you just get the benefit deferred until retirement.

https://www.pensionsadvisoryservice.org.uk/pension-problems/avoiding-problems/what-you-must-be-told

Despite the above, I certainly knew of one DB scheme where the leaver was simply told to keep the scheme updated with any change of address and to contact the administrator a few months before reaching age 60 (NRA) to claim the deferred pension.

jennyjj

xylophone wrote: »

https://www.pensionsadvisoryservice.org.uk/pension-problems/avoiding-problems/what-you-must-be-told

Despite the above, I certainly knew of one DB scheme where the leaver was simply told to keep the scheme updated with any change of address and to contact the administrator a few months before reaching age 60 (NRA) to claim the deferred pension.

I must say that when I took early release from BT in 2010, I received no such communication from any department about my pension options. Nothing. I just got my leaver payment. I was almost 51. Subsequently, about 6 months later, I asked for a quote for taking my pension early and was told that i could not have a quote because I did not qualify to take it early. That's despite the scheme permitting us to take it, reduced, from age 50!

xylophone

I asked for a quote for taking my pension early and was told that i could not have a quote because I did not qualify to take it early. That's despite the scheme permitting us to take it, reduced, from age 50!

I'm assuming you then consulted your scheme booklet/Scheme Rules and (if appropriate) wrote to the administrator to request chapter and verse?