How do you find a pension?

Lazy_Gray

Hi All

This is a question I’m posting on behalf of my Mum who is in her mid 70s having retired when she was 60.

In the early 1970s she got a job as the cleaner at our local library. This was in the days before all those services were contracted out and so she worked directly for the county council. By the time she left it must have been around 1984/85 and she was the caretaker. She was 50% full time.

When talking to her about SERPS the other day (which of course is another issue), she mentioned that she never had a pension from the council. She mentioned her friend did- she was the receptionist- but my Mum thought that as she was “just the cleaner” that she hadn’t got one. I said I didn’t think that this was right and that I would look into it. I thought I’d start here.

So my questions are-

1. Is it possible or likely that she would have had a pension from the council?
2. How would we start looking for this, if it exists?

Many thanks for any help.

Graeme

msallen

Surely just ask the council !

Lazy_Gray

You’re a genius! Thanks

xylophone

Does your mother's state pension letter show a contracted out deduction?

She may have a deferred LGPS pension - it would certainly be worth checking.

You could look up the LGPS site for the employing council or try

http://www.wmpfonline.com/article/4723/Pension-Tracing

Silvertabby

Before 1995 it was the norm that only full time workers were eligible to join the LGPS. Those who were contributing members when the rules changed were given the option of paying for the 'missing' service, but this wasn't extended to those, like OP's mum, who had already left.

It's still worth checking just in case OP's mum did work full time at any point - but she would have had to have done so for at least 2 years in order to be eligible for actual pension benefits (or a refund of her contributions plus interest for late payment if she accrued less than 2 years).