How did company pensions work in the 90s/00s....

gt568

As the title says really....

My wife work for Stylo Barratt shoes (I think) for about 5 years in the late 90s and early 2000s before changing career.  She was in her teens and early 20s then for context.
I was already part of a government scheme then, but how did company pensions work in those days?  Were they largely opt in?  She can't recall any pension payment from her wages and I fear being young she probably opted out or not in.

My annoyance now is she is missing potentially 5 years of pension build up through youthful stupidity (I haven't said that to her yet).

JoeCrystal

First of all, after quick googling around, Stylo Barratt pension schemes went into PPF so it may be worth asking them about it. Looking at the company's annual reports in the late nineties. They operate a DB scheme for full-time directors and the employees of the company who are eligible on the basis of age. It is quite possible that she may not be old enough to be eligible?

molerat

Pretty much all opt in and you often didn't get the choice to change your mind if you declined the one off invitation. I was a manager in a retail chain store  in those years and was surprised how many declined and I suspect are now living to regret it. We were strictly told not to "advise" employees on the pension and simply refer them to the booklet. 

gt568

molerat said:

Pretty much all opt in and you often didn't get the choice to change your mind if you declined the one off invitation. I was a manager in a retail chain store  in those years and was surprised how many declined and I suspect are now living to regret it. We were strictly told not to "advise" employees on the pension and simply refer them to the booklet. 

That's as I suspect.....I'm making her piece together her pre NHS employment to see what she may get in the future....I have a hunch she would have not opted in but we can't be sure.

gt568

JoeCrystal said:

First of all, after quick googling around, Stylo Barratt pension schemes went into PPF so it may be worth asking them about it. Looking at the company's annual reports in the late nineties. They operate a DB scheme for full-time directors and the employees of the company who are eligible on the basis of age. It is quite possible that she may not be old enough to be eligible?

You mean now?  Well she's only in her 40s, but if she was paying in she would be eligible once older no?

Ceme3000

I worked in a Payroll Dept back then and the employer operated a non contributory 60th final salary pension scheme.  As Molerat said it was one chance to go into the scheme and you couldn't say no and change your mind later.  Even then there were a few people who declined a generous totally free DB scheme on the basis that they were 'already paying into another scheme'.

We weren't allowed to advise, or tell them they were crazy!  Then when employee contributions of 2% were introduced in the early 00's quite a few left the scheme on principal because they thought they were being disadvantaged, and that was after the firm got an IFA in to give a presentation.  You can lead a horse to water and all that.......

JoeCrystal

gt568 said:

You mean now?  Well she's only in her 40s, but if she was paying in she would be eligible once older no?

That is not what I meant. I mean such pension schemes may have the minimum age requirement for the employees or a certain length of service required before you can join.

gt568

JoeCrystal said:

gt568 said:

You mean now?  Well she's only in her 40s, but if she was paying in she would be eligible once older no?

That is not what I meant. I mean such pension schemes may have the minimum age requirement for the employees or a certain length of service required before you can join.

Oh I see, what were people supposed to do if they weren't old enough or hadn't worked there long enough then?

This is all new to me as I've been in the same scheme since 18.

Notepad_Phil

gt568 said:
Oh I see, what were people supposed to do if they weren't old enough or hadn't worked there long enough then?

They waited till they were old enough and had worked there long enough - in my case I think the minimum age was 23 and you had to have been there a year. I doubt that many people would have thought of taking out their own personal pension - I know it never entered my mind to do so.

molerat

gt568 said:

JoeCrystal said:

gt568 said:

You mean now?  Well she's only in her 40s, but if she was paying in she would be eligible once older no?

That is not what I meant. I mean such pension schemes may have the minimum age requirement for the employees or a certain length of service required before you can join.

Oh I see, what were people supposed to do if they weren't old enough or hadn't worked there long enough then?

This is all new to me as I've been in the same scheme since 18.

With my co when you reached eligibility through either age or service you would receive an invitation from payroll, you then had a 3 month window to accept.  If you did not take up that invitation that was the end of the matter. There may have been a second chance in certain "life changing" circumstances such as marriage.  Up to that invitation point you were not eligible for the pension and would have to make other arrangements.

Brynsam

gt568 said:

My annoyance now is she is missing potentially 5 years of pension build up through youthful stupidity (I haven't said that to her yet).

Probably be a good idea not to say it to her at all...surely it's for her to be 'annoyed' at her own stupidity, not you? Most teenagers/early 20s would have taken the view that cash now was better than some vague thing called a pension, payable half a century later.