SERPS - where did my money go?

xylophone

there is the possibility that the majority of those listed employments may well have refunded and reversed the contracted out status leaving no trace of the employment / pension in their records. OP's NI record should show contacted out years and the employer for those years.

But see Post 1

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/75917747#Comment_75917747

jamesd

Only £16.25 COPE suggests little contracted out time. There are two broad cases to consider:

1. if you contracted out yourself into a personal pension. The HMRC records show that the scheme received the money so ask them to explain or pay redress and formally complain if they don't.
2. if you were in a contracted out defined benefit scheme provide dates of employment and ask the scheme to investigate via their tracing form and explain then complain if they fail to. However, four jobs in six years suggests short term employee ineligibility for the main pension is the likely answer. But a GMP-only pension might remain and it's worth specifically asking about this.

YvonneAnne

Thanks everyone, it's a lot clearer now, literally as I've logged into my laptop instead of my phone and saw the bits I missed - many thanks Xylophone, post 23 nailed it actually!!