Contracted out of serps

Moomoore1

I contracted out of serps many years ago, is there any way of reclaiming the money back

molerat

What money ?  Being contracted out meant you paid less NI so do you mean you want to pay the government some money  ?

dunstonh

I contracted out of serps many years ago, is there any way of reclaiming the money back

How do you mean reclaim?
Contracting out of SERPS was done two ways.
Contracting out via a personal pension meant part of your NI contributions were rebated to the pension provider instead of building entitlement from the state.
Contracting out via a defined benefit scheme meant you paid lower NI and the defined benefit pension paid you more instead.

In neither scenario was your personal money involved and therefore nothing to claim back.
And contracting out has proven to be a beneficial thing for the vast majority of people.   For example, contracting out with a personal pension means you get to pick when you want the money.  Wheres contracting in was at state pension age.   You also get 25% tax free lump sum from contracted out pensions but no lump sum with contracted in.     On death, your beneficiaries get your contracted out fund as a lump sum. No lump sum with contracted in.     And since the move to the "new single state pension, a lot of people will build up full entitlement under that scheme despite having been contracted out for a number of years.

So, what is it exactly that you are trying to achieve?

Marcon

Moomoore1 said:

I contracted out of serps many years ago, is there any way of reclaiming the money back

If you used a personal pension (known as an 'appropriate personal pension') and you are aged at least 55 then yes, you can access the cash now. Just be aware that if you 'flexibly access' your benefits, which in broad terms means taking out anything more than the 25% tax free cash lump sum (other than by buying an annuity), you will be limited to £4,000 a year contributions to any future defined contribution pension scheme. That £4K including tax relief on personal contributions, and also any employer contributions.