Payslips

inspectorperez

Ballard said:

inspectorperez said:

If she pays pension contributions - forever!!

I would never trust anyone else to maintain full and accurate records of what has been deducted from my gross pay which is going to benefit me in the future.

I can log onto my pension account whenever I want and get a list of all of the contributions so I’d be surprised if I’m this day and age all reputable pensions don’t offer something similar. 

You can also log onto a government website which tells you where you are with your stamp contributions. 

Try reading some of the reported anecdotes about Teachers Pensions for instance. You might be shocked !!
Zanderman relates an experience above and I have first hand experience with a family member which lasted 5 years.
You name it, employment records which changed without notification, removal of past service with no notification, totally ineffective communication, log in difficulties, outright denial of service despite proof................... And Teachers Pensions is one of the UKs largest pension providers!!

blue.peter

It's entirely a matter of personal preference and, as @eskbanker says, it depends on your reason for retaining them.

I still have all of mine, back to 1977, with my other records in files stored in lidded plastic crates in the corner of my home office. I want to be able to wave them under the DWP's collective nose if I ever have a problem over my NI contribution record when I come to claim my state pension. (To be fair, the record on GOV.UK looks right. My only real concern is connecting me to to the NI number that I've been using. I lost my NI number card a very long time ago, and have had to rely on having memorised it correctly in about 1974. When I tried to get the DWP* to confirm that I was using the right NI number, I couldn't get a sensible answer out of them.)

Others have mentioned other good reasons for keeping them indefinitely.

* Or was it then still the DSS? Or even the DHSS? I forget.

Shakin_Steve

Zanderman said:

inspectorperez said:

If she pays pension contributions - forever!!

I would never trust anyone else to maintain full and accurate records of what has been deducted from my gross pay which is going to benefit me in the future.

Indeed...  a colleague of mine, due to retire this year, has been told by her pension - Teachers - that they have no record of contributions for 2 years, about 20 years back. She's sure she was on the pension scheme then - but has moved post - and around the country - several times since.  They've said payslips would do as evidence - but she doesn't have them, so has to go back to the school, which has changed management system, at least twice, since then.  So they may have difficulty too.  Never trust anyone other than yourself - and keep records!

Interesting. My teacher wife is 20 years away from retirement and cannot understand why I ask her to log in to the TP website every three months or so to check her contributions are up to date. I think most teachers are still under the impression that it's the local authority and government that run the scheme. But, of course, TP is administered by the prudential and most payrolls are run by private companies now, esp. academy trusts.
She has actually had three different providers in three years, Capita being by far the worst.

blue.peter

inspectorperez said:

Try reading some of the reported anecdotes about Teachers Pensions for instance. You might be shocked !!

Aren't they administered by Capita? If so, nothing horrifying would surprise me.

Shakin_Steve

blue.peter said:

inspectorperez said:

Try reading some of the reported anecdotes about Teachers Pensions for instance. You might be shocked !!

Aren't they administered by Capita? If so, nothing horrifying would surprise me.

Prudential, although I'm having trouble confirming that online.

inspectorperez

Its definitely Capita sorry to say!

They have an absolutely dreadful record if you do any research on them. Dental practices/MOD/Teachers to name just 3 areas where thay have been absolutely woeful!! They frequently appear in Pensions Ombudsmans reports where appeals have been lodged by disgruntled pension scheme members

It is definitely a good idea to log in from time to time just to see what they have been up to on your record. That is how I discovered 3 years past service wiped off at a stroke for one family member

Shakin_Steve

Yes, sorry. Apparently Prudential administer any AVC's.

https://www.pru.co.uk/rz/teachers/

Shakin_Steve

What's even more surprising to me, now that you've confirmed it's Capita, is that the wife's payroll provider when she worked in a Sheffield school was Capita. They were forever late with sending over the contributions record and, when challenged, blamed the 'idiots' over at TPS! 

Dr_Crypto

My old man kept all of his. He did the same job as me and it’s interesting to compare what we earned at similar stages of our career. Even allowing for inflation I’m earning more than he did at the same stage but then he did have free accommodation.