Should I really take the DB income?

nigelbb

I too am ex-DEC but older than the other posters here. I took option 2 when I was 57 about 10 years ago. I had a TFLS of about £60K which cleared some debts & injected some capital into my business. My pension is about £10K & has barely increased over that time.

I was very naive & didn't know that transferring out was an option. I also didn't immediately twig that HP aren't giving any annual increases to ex-DEC pensioners. We have been treated appallingly by the new owners.

Decision_Time

"Eventually I decided that as even with the DB pension my total guaranteed income would be less than my NUMBER (though close) I would keep it. That allows me to keep my DC funds invested for longer and at a slightly higher risk, hopefully counteracting the lack of inflation protection."

Yes option 1 would seem to make good sense for you too.

"I was very naive & didn't know that transferring out was an option. I also didn't immediately twig that HP aren't giving any annual increases to ex-DEC pensioners. We have been treated appallingly by the new owners"

The inflationary impact on the pension is the main reason why I can't quite get the transfer option out of my mind. I'm pretty sure the lack of voluntary increases will mean the transfer option will likely prove to be the better financial route to take, but for me taking the full DC income has the advantage of reducing our risks in the early years and as I've got a big DC fund already then if the transfer does prove to the best route to go then my DC funds will also have done well so I'll be happy anyway.