Forte pension scheme

kazmeister

I paid into the above scheme for a period of approx 5 years between 1987 and 1992. I have some old documents and a letter confirming me as part of the scheme. A few years ago I used the pension tracing service to find out who currently held their contributions. When I contacted them and sent copies of the information I had, they responded saying they didn’t have me on their records. I tried following up further but got no response. I waited for a response and then forgot about it.
I am now looking to try and trace it again and am looking for suggestions as to what I can do as whilst it will only be a small amount, someone somewhere has my contributions.
What is the best way to approach this now?

Silvertabby

How old were you in 1987?  If you were under 18 then you may not have been able to join the pension scheme straight away.  If you then went on to leave with less than 2 years pensionable service, then you would have probably been offered a refund of your contributions.

Does that ring any bells?

Otherwise, looks like Forte are now part of Compass Pensions, if that helps.

Marcon

Silvertabby said:

Otherwise, looks like Forte are now part of Compass Pensions, if that helps.

Link: https://www.compass-pensions.co.uk/

xylophone

 period of approx 5 years between 1987 and 1992.

It is virtually certain that this pension was contracted out of SERPS and if so, you would have a Guaranteed Minimum Pension.

Were you ever a member of any other contracted out pension scheme?

If not, you could check for a COPE on your state pension forecast because if there, it could only relate to this particular scheme.

https://www.gov.uk/check-state-pension

See also this 

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/78331478/#Comment_78331478

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

You could try the SAR.

Marcon

kazmeister said:

I paid into the above scheme for a period of approx 5 years between 1987 and 1992. I have some old documents and a letter confirming me as part of the scheme. A few years ago I used the pension tracing service to find out who currently held their contributions. When I contacted them and sent copies of the information I had, they responded saying they didn’t have me on their records. I tried following up further but got no response. I waited for a response and then forgot about it.
I am now looking to try and trace it again and am looking for suggestions as to what I can do as whilst it will only be a small amount, someone somewhere has my contributions.
What is the best way to approach this now?

What exactly does the letter say? If it confirms you have joined the scheme, what's the date of joining/date on the letter? Do your old documents include a 'leaving service' statement or similar, confirming you have a 'deferred' pension in the scheme? 

Is it possible you transferred your Forte benefits to a new pension scheme when you changed employer? It was quite common to do so - no advice or similar was required in those days.

Alternatively, could you have opted out (opting out became possible from 1988 - until then employers could make membership of a company pension scheme a condition of employment) to save paying contributions? A great many people did, having been flogged something called a 'minimum payments' pension by salesmen on the basis it was entirely funded by NI rebates so 'you didn't have to pay anything'.

Start by asking Compass to recheck (send them a further copy of the information you have), and if that goes nowhere, a SAR is your next step:

xylophone said:

See also this 

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/78331478/#Comment_78331478

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

You could try the SAR.

kazmeister

Thanks for your replies so far.

I was definitely over 18 and paid in contributions, I found a few odd payslips from 90/91 confirming pension payments.

Compass pensions were the ones who never heard of me.

Xylophone - I checked my gov gateway and it looks like I was contracted out at some point and this was probably it.

I found the letter confirming when I left the scheme the number of units and the value at that time (1991). 

I dont recall transferring it to anywhere else as I didn’t work for a while due to raising family and then the company I worked for didn’t have a scheme. 

I have done some digging in the attic and found another letter stating that the scheme was being wound up and there were 5 options. Page 2 and 3 give more detail on the options with a deadline for Sept 94. I have no idea whether I did this or not and it does state that if you don’t select an option they will have to apply no. 5. I think this must have been the only option as I didn’t have a private one, and no new employer one.

If that was the case does that mean that my contributions were paid back into the state scheme and I can forget about it?

Letter below (pg 1)


I don’t have the statement referenced showing the value or any confirmation of what happened unless it is in the attic with 30 years of carp.

Thanks for your help so far in helping me try to understand it all.

kazmeister

This is on my government gateway, 
 Does this mean that the £24.11 per week should be paid by my Forte pension?

Sorry I don’t know how to add smaller images.

Marcon

If the scheme has been wound up that explains why Compass have no information about you.

A SAR would be a good idea: https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6267734/is-there-a-really-detailed-online-method-to-check-nics/p1

It's possible you were contracted out through membership of some other pension arrangement, but a SAR will enable you to check that. You might want to come back here for a bit of help when you get what is likely to be a hefty pile of paperwork. 

kazmeister

Marcon - thank you. I will look to the SAR

Silvertabby

If option 5 was the 'default' then paying your monies to DSS (as it was) to reinstate you to SERPS would mean that you were contracted back in.  Do you have any other pensions which were/are contracted out? 

xylophone

 I think that it would be worth your while doing the SAR as above -it may indicate whether or not you were reinstated into SERPS.

What exactly is shown as the COPE on your state pension forecast?

Looking at the information provided, I think that the Scheme may have been a COMPS  rather than a Defined Benefit Scheme - 

this type of contracting out would still have given a COPE on your state pension forecast.

https://techzone.abrdn.com/public/pensions/Tech-guide-contracting-out#:~:text=with the test.-,Contracted out money purchase (COMP),of the Additional State Pension.

See also https://www.lcp.com/media/1150050/why-is-money-being-deducted-from-my-state-pension.pdf   (note at bottom of page 6  regarding reinstatement into SERPS) and then page 7 onwards.