Workplace pensions contributions

The_Mad_Paddler

Hello Folks,
I started work with an organisation that auto-enrolled me into a workplace pension scheme with Royal London. However, the employment did not work out, and after 3 months I quit. However, over those 3 months, I had deductions from my salary for pension contributions.

What happens now? How do I get my money back?

Thanks in Advance for your advice & help.

AlanP_2

Why do you want your money back as you are likely to be better off keeping it as a pension pot that includes your money (contribution), the employer's contribution and the applicable tax relief?

You may have to move it from RL but that is a fairly straightforward process. 

The_Mad_Paddler

AlanP_2 said:

Why do you want your money back as you are likely to be better off keeping it as a pension pot that includes your money (contribution), the employer's contribution and the applicable tax relief?

You may have to move it from RL but that is a fairly straightforward process. 

It is that straightforward forward bit that I want to know about. I am in another job with a better pension scheme. (Local Govt Pension Scheme)

How do I get to move my contributions across?

Or take my money out entirely?

JoeCrystal

Providing you are within a year of starting your job with the local government, you can ask for quote to see what it will buy in the scheme. Apparently, the LGPS calculation for transfers in are quite generous, generous enough that some employers do not allows such transfers.

kuratowski

The_Mad_Paddler said:

How do I get my money back?

As set out on this page, if you have been a member of a DC pension for over 1 month, you are not allowed to get your contributions refunded.

https://www.moneyhelper.org.uk/en/pensions-and-retirement/pensions-basics/what-happens-to-your-pension-money-and-benefits-when-you-leave-your-pension?source=tpas#

Your two choices are to leave it as a (tiny) standalone pot or to transfer it into another pension - definitely look into transferring it to LGPS, as suggested by JoeCrystal.

AlanP_2

I'm in the LGPS and transferred a DC pot in to it when I joined.

Contact the LGPS admin team for your area, your employer or intranet should have details, if not just try Google. Ask for a Transfer In Quote form, complete it with details for old pension, return to Admin Team.

They will contact the old scheme, get the valuation and work out what that will buy you in the LGPS.

You get quote and say Yes / No (hint - most people say YES).


Is this your first / only pension or are there others that could be transferred in as well?

The_Mad_Paddler

AlanP_2 said:

I'm in the LGPS and transferred a DC pot in to it when I joined.

Contact the LGPS admin team for your area, your employer or intranet should have details, if not just try Google. Ask for a Transfer In Quote form, complete it with details for old pension, return to Admin Team.

They will contact the old scheme, get the valuation and work out what that will buy you in the LGPS.

You get quote and say Yes / No (hint - most people say YES).


Is this your first / only pension or are there others that could be transferred in as well?

I have little pots all over the place... Going back to 2007... when I first started contributing into pension schemes.

A bit of history here:
(1) Worked for local government since 2007, contributing to different local authority pension pots.
(2) Got made redundant early this year, and went to work for a different organisation - which is where the above 3 months' contribution bit came up.
(3) Took up another local authority job (with yet another authority) - and started contributing to the LGPS scheme via the new employer/ council.
(4) All my previous 'pots' are still sitting where they were... I did not bother to transfer/ merge anything.

Dazed_and_C0nfused

(1) Worked for local government since 2007, contributing to different local authority pension pots

Are you sure about that, most local government employees would have opted to stay in LGPS so instead of building up a pension pot (of money) they would receive a guaranteed pension based on length of service and (FTE) salary.