Tiny, almost forgotten pension offers CETV of £175k - need IFA

xylophone

I was a member from 1995 - 1999

This was a Defined Benefit Pension Scheme and almost certainly contracted out of SERPS.

If so, part of your pension (that accrued between 1995 and 1997) will be Guaranteed Minimum Pension.

The scheme is required to revalue this part of your pension in deferment (by fixed/full rate according to scheme rules) and as yours is all post 88, to index link it in payment by up to 3% CPI.

The excess over GMP will revalue/be index linked  in deferment/payment by statutory/scheme rules.

https://www.barnett-waddingham.co.uk/comment-insight/blog/revaluation-for-early-leavers/

Was this scheme the only contracted out scheme of which you were ever a member?

Is a COPE shown on your state pension forecast?

em987623232

A contracted out part is shown on my state pension for this period, and yes, this is the only one I was ever on.

Marcon

em987623232 said:

Marcon said:

Very heavily in your favour.

Which is why I wanted to investigate what to do with it....What would you suggest?

What's the 'guarantee' date on your CETV statement? If you don't already have an IFA lined up to do the necessary work, it's quite possible that you won't be able to find anyone who can confirm they will be able to jump through all the hoops (expect to pay around £5K for the advice process) before the expiry of the guarantee period.

Be aware that 'guarantee' does not invariably mean that the scheme will pay what they've quoted, if this does turn out to be an error. It could be correct, but given what you've said about this being a first job with quite a short period of membership, the number does look a bit high. Any idea what sort of salary you were earning in the year or two before you left active membership?

em987623232

Mid April. I can't find anyone to touch this with a bargepole though. Salary went up to about 13-4k by the end, maybe a tiny bit more. 

xylophone

Do you by any chance still have the statement of deferred benefits you would have been given when you left the scheme?

Do you have a copy of the scheme rules/member booklet?

em987623232

a: No chance.
b: Yes, they send me loads of stuff and are very responsive - what would you be interested in knowing. 

xylophone

a: No chance.

A pity - together with the scheme booklet (with details of revaluation for deferred pensioners) some light might have been thrown on the subject.

You might ask the administrator for the GMP/excess at date of leaving service and for details of how the GMP/excess are revaluing in deferment.

You might also ask how the pension increases once in payment.

What is the COPE shown on your state pension forecast?

AlanP_2

For an old DB pension I had the CETV quote showed the breakdown between GMP types and excess so the info might be in there somewhere.

Marcon

em987623232 said:

Mid April. I can't find anyone to touch this with a bargepole though. Salary went up to about 13-4k by the end, maybe a tiny bit more. 

Which means even if you do find someone willing to act, they won't have time to get through the whole process before the guarantee period expires. Two months just isn't enough time.

Part of the problem will be your age. Very few advisers now transact DB transfer business because it is such high risk, and even fewer have PI insurance to advise on transfers where someone is under 55 - and as this was your first job, I guess you are under 55?

On what I hope is a slightly brighter note, your statutory right to a CETV continues until you are within one year of reaching the scheme's normal retirement age, so this isn't a once in a lifetime opportunity. There will be plenty of people who tell you that transfer values will never be as high as they are now, but they are probably the same people who have said the same thing several times over the years and been proved wrong more than once.

em987623232

Thanks all. There are worse problems to have!!