Opting out of SERPS

Bertietheviszla

I have recently looked at my pension forecast where it confirmed that I did indeed opt out of Serps. However, I have no idea where this pot is held. The company I worked for at the time went into liquidation and I don’t know what happened to the fund. Or indeed, where it was held. How do I trace where this pot is. 

kaMelo

Was the company pension scheme contracted out or did you contract out yourself?

friolento

I don’t think you could contract out yourself. Your scheme was either contracted out or not. If you were in one of those, your state pension forecast will show an assumed COPE amount.

You could opt out of the scheme altogether. Though this would not be shown on a state pension forecast.

To trace a lost pension, try https://www.gov.uk/find-pension-contact-details

dunstonh

I don’t think you could contract out yourself. 

Yes you could.  you contracted out of SERPS/S2P using an appropriate personal pension (or just personal pension as it would be today).   The individual could choose to contract out or remain contracted in.  Unlike occupational pensions which would be COMP/CIMP by the choice of the employer or a DB scheme.

xylophone

I have recently looked at my pension forecast where it confirmed that I did indeed opt out of Serps. However, I have no idea where this pot is held. The company I worked for at the time went into liquidation and I don’t know what happened to the fund. Or indeed, where it was held. How do I trace where this pot is

"Contract Out"

https://techzone.abrdn.com/public/pensions/Tech-guide-contracting-out

Contracting out was a method of building up private pension provision by giving up entitlement to the additional pension element of the State Pension (State Second Pension or its predecessor SERPS) for particular tax years.

Self-employed people weren't able to contract out as they didn't participate in the Additional State Pension.

Because a person who contracted out will have a lower State Pension entitlement, the Government reduced the National Insurance (NI) liability on earnings between the earnings thresholds and the upper accrual point for these individuals and their employers for the period of contracted out service.

The way this was done depended on what type of scheme the individual was contracted out under. There were three options:

• Defined benefit: contracted out salary related (COSR)
• Contracted out money purchase (COMP)
• Appropriate personal pensions (APP)

The OP could try

https://www.gov.uk/find-pension-contact-details

Albermarle

dunstonh said:

I don’t think you could contract out yourself. 

Yes you could.  you contracted out of SERPS/S2P using an appropriate personal pension (or just personal pension as it would be today).   The individual could choose to contract out or remain contracted in.  Unlike occupational pensions which would be COMP/CIMP by the choice of the employer or a DB scheme.

Actually I was in a occupational DB scheme, but was given a choice whether to opt out of SERPS or not in the late eighties, and start a personal pension where the NI payments would be sent. I do not think we had the choice to pick our own provider, and were just offered to opt out with Standard Life arranged via the employer, or not opt out.

I mentioned it before on the forum and got the impression it was not a common arrangement.

p00hsticks

Bertietheviszla said:

The company I worked for at the time went into liquidation and I don’t know what happened to the fund. Or indeed, where it was held. How do I trace where this pot is. 

In cases like that, if it was a defined benefit pension (which does not have a 'pot' but rather a promise to pay) the pension often ends up with the Pension Protection Fund
Welcome to the PPF | Pension Protection Fund

dunstonh

Actually I was in a occupational DB scheme, but was given a choice whether to opt out of SERPS or not in the late eighties, and start a personal pension where the NI payments would be sent. I do not think we had the choice to pick our own provider, and were just offered to opt out with Standard Life arranged via the employer, or not opt out.
I mentioned it before on the forum and got the impression it was not a common arrangement.

I have heard of that before but it is very unusual.    THere you go, you are special  

Albermarle

dunstonh said:

Actually I was in a occupational DB scheme, but was given a choice whether to opt out of SERPS or not in the late eighties, and start a personal pension where the NI payments would be sent. I do not think we had the choice to pick our own provider, and were just offered to opt out with Standard Life arranged via the employer, or not opt out.
I mentioned it before on the forum and got the impression it was not a common arrangement.

I have heard of that before but it is very unusual.    THere you go, you are special  

Thanks, and I still have the Standard Life Pension pot to prove it !

RedImp_2

If it was the same as when I opted out it was nothing to do with my employer so shouldn’t matter if they no longer exist.  It went into a private pension in my name and with my details so the pension followed me around until I consolidated a couple of years ago.
Maybe it’s part of OP private pension pot without them realising 

poseidon1

Same here, had my contracted out plan with Scottish Amicable ( later taken over by Prudential ). However, once I became aware I could manage those funds in my own Sipp, transferred it and other smaller s226 pension plans to Hargreaves Lansdown. Continued to receive NI refunds direct to the Sipp until serps disappeared.

 The contracted out monies had been held separately for a while, but now fully absorbed in the general sipp.