Pension Transfer from DC to Alpha Civil Service. Could someone help me please?

Vlo

Hi Everyone, 
I hope any of you could give me some advice on what to do. 
I´ve worked at the Financial Ombudsman for over 4 years. I had a defined contribution pension. 
Last year I moved to the Civil Service and joined the Alpha pension (as everyone who joins at the moment). A friend of mine told me it would be worth transferring my defined contribution pension from FOS to the Civil Service one. However, I´m clueless when it comes to pensions and I don´t know if that would be a wise move or not. 
In addition to this, I don´t know if anyone would know if I can contribute further to the Alpha pension and how to do this. 
Could any of you give me some hints/advice on this? 
Thank you so much in advance. 
Kind regards. 

Diplodicus

I believe that you have to transfer a pension from elsewhere in to Alpha inside the first year of employment with the Civil Service - and it buys more pension than you are likely to get if you leave it. If you call CSP, they will call your pension administrator, get a transfer quote and tell you how much pension it would add to the Alpha scheme (it must not exceed half your starting salary but unlikely at 4 years). Then you advise CSP if you want to transfer.  There is a bit of paperwork and it will be slow but the important thing is to set it in train before the window closes after a years’ employment.

Marcon

Vlo said:

In addition to this, I don´t know if anyone would know if I can contribute further to the Alpha pension and how to do this. 

Well, the people running the scheme would certainly know! Also have a look on the website - that gives you all the options, including how to pay further (assuming 'further' means 'more than the basic contribution'): https://www.civilservicepensionscheme.org.uk/members/alpha-scheme-guide/

Go to Section 2 - control of your retirement planning

Vlo

Diplodicus said:

I believe that you have to transfer a pension from elsewhere in to Alpha inside the first year of employment with the Civil Service - and it buys more pension than you are likely to get if you leave it. If you call CSP, they will call your pension administrator, get a transfer quote and tell you how much pension it would add to the Alpha scheme (it must not exceed half your starting salary but unlikely at 4 years). Then you advise CSP if you want to transfer.  There is a bit of paperwork and it will be slow but the important thing is to set it in train before the window closes after a years’ employment.

Hi Diplodicus, 
Thanks for your response. I already started the whole process. My previous pension provider has confirmed the value of my pot at the moment and sent the documents to fill out should I want to proceed with the transfer. However, the Civil Service hasn´t confirmed how much it will add to the Alpha pension yet. I have until August to decide what to do. 
It is interesting the point about half of the salary. My pot value at the moment is over 17.000 and my salary in the Civil Service when I started was 30.500. I might lose out here? it is also true that in October the value of my pot was 19.000 so might be worth transferring it given the situation we are living. 
Also, my intention is to stay in Civil Service two/three years so I don´t know if I should also take that into account before deciding to transfer it or not. 
Thank you. 
Kind regards. 

Marcon

Vlo said:

Diplodicus said:

I believe that you have to transfer a pension from elsewhere in to Alpha inside the first year of employment with the Civil Service - and it buys more pension than you are likely to get if you leave it. If you call CSP, they will call your pension administrator, get a transfer quote and tell you how much pension it would add to the Alpha scheme (it must not exceed half your starting salary but unlikely at 4 years). Then you advise CSP if you want to transfer.  There is a bit of paperwork and it will be slow but the important thing is to set it in train before the window closes after a years’ employment.

My pot value at the moment is over 17.000 and my salary in the Civil Service when I started was 30.500. I might lose out here? it is also true that in October the value of my pot was 19.000 so might be worth transferring it given the situation we are living. 

'Pot' value isn't what counts - it is the amount of 'extra' pension the transfer will buy you, which will be way under 'half your starting salary' mark).

Vlo

Marcon said:

Vlo said:

Diplodicus said:

I believe that you have to transfer a pension from elsewhere in to Alpha inside the first year of employment with the Civil Service - and it buys more pension than you are likely to get if you leave it. If you call CSP, they will call your pension administrator, get a transfer quote and tell you how much pension it would add to the Alpha scheme (it must not exceed half your starting salary but unlikely at 4 years). Then you advise CSP if you want to transfer.  There is a bit of paperwork and it will be slow but the important thing is to set it in train before the window closes after a years’ employment.

My pot value at the moment is over 17.000 and my salary in the Civil Service when I started was 30.500. I might lose out here? it is also true that in October the value of my pot was 19.000 so might be worth transferring it given the situation we are living. 

'Pot' value isn't what counts - it is the amount of 'extra' pension the transfer will buy you, which will be way under 'half your starting salary' mark).

Thank you Marcon. As you can see I´m totally lost with pensions. 
Is it, in general, a good move to transfer a DC the pension into the Civil Service one? How would I know if it is worth it? 
Thank you, again. 
Regards. 

Diplodicus

Hi Vlo,
Yes, As Marcon says. The half salary thing won’t impact.
Is it a good deal? The closing window gives a clue. Why not ask how much annuity £17k  buys on the open market so that you can compare it to the extra pension generated in Alpha.  If I had to second guess, I reckon you would get nearly double in Alpha. 

Whatever made you want to leave the Financial Ombudsman? Happy ship?

Vlo

Diplodicus said:

Hi Vlo,
Yes, As Marcon says. The half salary thing won’t impact.
Is it a good deal? The closing window gives a clue. Why not ask how much annuity £17k  buys on the open market so that you can compare it to the extra pension generated in Alpha.  If I had to second guess, I reckon you would get nearly double in Alpha. 

Whatever made you want to leave the Financial Ombudsman? Happy ship?

Thank you so much to both of you. You can guess I didn´t work in pensions at FOS  
Career progression I think it was the main reason to leave. Also, dealing with the same complaints every day made me feel I wasn´t learning anything any longer. Happy ship? I wouldn´t know what to say, still learning and adapting to new work culture. 
Kind regards! 

Diplodicus

And to you, Vlo. 
Good luck!