1970's Lloyds Bank Pension

jjhat57

I joined Lloyds in 1974 and was given a letter stating that I was automatically a member of the Women's Contributory Pension Fund. The bank would pay into this until I was 25, however I left at 23 having been employed by them for 6 years. I have no other paperwork regarding this pension so I would imagine there's nothing due to me (clutching at straws here) I have read other forum posts re: Non Contributory Pensions, maybe the scheme I was enrolled into was different? Also, my NI Contribution record states I have full contributions although was contracted out somewhere along the line, with COPE amount of £31.96 a week. Is it possible to  check that this amount is included in the pension I am drawing from another company?  

molerat

At that time pensions were very different from today and if leaving under age 25 you were pretty much not entitled to anything.

Have you contacted the Lloyds pension scheme to check ?

COPE is not a real amount, it is just a guess, it is not really anything you get from another company pension.  HMRC will be able to tell you when and who your contracted out service was with - but will likely take several months to respond in writing.

Do you understand what your pension forecast actually means and what, if anything, you need to do ?

Marcon

jjhat57 said:

I joined Lloyds in 1974 and was given a letter stating that I was automatically a member of the Women's Contributory Pension Fund. The bank would pay into this until I was 25, however I left at 23 having been employed by them for 6 years. I have no other paperwork regarding this pension so I would imagine there's nothing due to me (clutching at straws here) I have read other forum posts re: Non Contributory Pensions, maybe the scheme I was enrolled into was different? Also, my NI Contribution record states I have full contributions although was contracted out somewhere along the line, with COPE amount of £31.96 a week. Is it possible to  check that this amount is included in the pension I am drawing from another company?  

Yes - it's bit long winded, though.

Try: https://www.tax.service.gov.uk/shortforms/form/DPU_SAR_NI?_ga=2.230026460.1544670040.1621021753-1315656139.1609178084

You'll get a huge pile of papers though the post. Turn to the 'Scheme Membership' section at the back of the pack. There's a complete history of all the pension schemes to which you've belonged/contributed which were 'contracted out' of the State Additional Pension. If you post a copy of that page here (make sure you redact all personal identifiers), someone will be able to interpret!

xylophone

I joined Lloyds in 1974

At the age of 16 presumably. 

I am wondering whether the WCPF was some sort of arrangement made for female employees until they could join  the Bank's non (?) contributory  Salary Related Defined Benefit Scheme at the age of 25?

The State Earnings Related Pension Scheme did not start until 1978 - the Lloyds Bank DB Scheme would have contracted out of this scheme but whether or not this would have applied to your arrangement post 1978 is unclear - at all events. if it did, you would only have been contracted out with Lloyds for around two years.

Presumably you have checked with the Administrators of the Lloyds Schemes?

With regard to the COPE shown on your pension forecast, see

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/state-pension-fact-sheets/contracting-out-and-why-we-may-have-included-a-contracted-out-pension-equivalent-cope-amount-when-you-used-the-online-service#:~:text=Pension Equivalent amount.-,The Contracted Out Pension Equivalent ( COPE ),had not been contracted out.

The COPE amount is based on your National Insurance contribution record up to 5 April 2016 used to calculate your Starting Amount for the new State Pension. The COPE estimate shown in your statement is based on April 2016 State Pension rates.

If you were a member of 2 or more contracted out schemes, the COPE amount shown is based on all your schemes and covers all the years you were contracted out.

Your COPE was used once only (6/4/16) to calculate your "starting amount" for NSP.

What exactly does your forecast show?

You might make an SAR to HMRC

https://www.tax.service.gov.uk/shortforms/form/DPU_SAR_NI?_ga=2.230026460.1544670040.1621021753-1315656139.1609178084

See

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/78377177/#Comment_78377177

What makes really interesting reading is the Scheme Membership section at the back of the pack. There's a complete history of all the pension schemes to which I've belonged/contributed - including their reference numbers.

jjhat57

Thank you for your replies and suggestions!

My State pension forecast is very nearly up to the max, I have 46 years of full contributions, 1 year left to contribute and 3 years when I didn't pay enough, but I'm sorting that out. 

I have requested the SAR out of interest, just in case, every penny counts.....but not expecting anything really.