Verifying start date of old pension

Oldoaktree

Hi, been digging into my old pensions to check I have them all under control.

I’ve noticed that a very old one (around 15-20 years ago) seems to have a later start date than I thought it did by about 18 months.
I don’t have my old pay slips from then, or P60s and can't think how else to check when my contributions began. Does anyone have any ideas? Would HRMC be able to help perhaps?

Thanks!

xylophone

I’ve noticed that a very old one (around 15-20 years ago) seems to have a later start date than I thought it did by about 18 months.

What kind of pension is this?

Malthusian

Bank statements?

If your employer was deducting contributions for 18 months but hadn't been paying them into a pension, you should be able to tell that from the amount of money going into your account. (I'm assuming contributions were being deducted from your paycheque before it hit your bank account.)

If the monthly amount you received as net salary drops 18 months after you started the job, that would suggest you only joined the pension scheme at that point and you have lost nothing (other than missed opportunity for tax relief and growth from not joining earlier, but after 15-20 years that's spilt milk).

If it stays the same before and after the pension started, you may have something to investigate.

Oldoaktree

Thanks for the message.
It’s a defined benefit pension.

Dox

Ask the administrators to confirm what the eligibility requirements were for joining the scheme at the time you became an employee of the sponsoring employer. Many 'older' DB schemes had a minimum age at which members could join and/or a 'waiting period' (i.e. you had to be a permanent employee for a given period before you were eligible to become a member of the pension scheme).

Do you have any elderly pension statements kicking around which might give different info from the one you are currently looking at?

Oldoaktree

Thanks for all the suggestions. I really appreciate it.
I will ask them about the eligibility criteria. I had in mind it was 6 or 12 months, but it’s going back a bit, so maybe my memory is faulty!

xylophone

I’ve noticed that a very old one (around 15-20 years ago) seems to have a later start date than I thought it did by about 18 months.
I don’t have my old pay slips from then, or P60s and can't think how else to check when my contributions began. Does anyone have any ideas? Would HRMC be able to help perhaps?

It’s a defined benefit pension.

You were almost certainly contracted out as a member of a DB pension scheme.

See post 23 here https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/60096622

DWP holds a detailed record of the periods of contracted-out and contracted-in employment, indexed by NI number. The guy I spoke to at DWP gave me the complete breakdown of my record over the phone. No values or employers, just the dates of employment and whether contracted-out or in.

xylophone

And the administrator of your deferred pension should be able to provide a copy of the scheme rules/scheme booklet detailing eligibility/normal scheme pension age etc.