New MSE pensions guide - help correct the errors!

Marcon

See https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/savings/discount-pensions/#nmlppensions

First thing I spotted was this:

Final salary

These pensions (sometimes called defined benefit schemes, or in some cases Career Average Revalued Earnings schemes), are largely funded by employers, though staff may also have to pay into them. With these, you get a percentage of your final pre-retirement salary, or when leaving that firm, as an annual income. 

What that percentage is depends on how long you worked for that particular firm. There is normally an 'accrual rate' set by your employer as a fraction of your final salary.

Say the rate is 1/60th, you get 1/60th of your final salary as a retirement income for each year you worked for that firm. So if you worked for 30 years, you'd get 30/60ths, or half your final salary with that firm.

In this case, the heading should be 'defined benefit' with final salary shown as a subset of that. It's unusual to have the final salary as the final pensionable salary (more common to be an average of the last few years) and you also need a brief explanation of CARE schemes. Also a little matter of actually joining the pension scheme and staying in it, not just being employed by the firm concerned. 

This is also significantly wrong:

• Workplace pension schemes. This is where you and/or your employer make regular monthly payments, with that money invested by a pension company until you hit retirement. There are two types of workplace pensions: trust-based and contract-based pensions.

There are 3 types: trust based, contract based and statutory (the large unfunded schemes such as the Civil Service and NHS, for instance).

Not sure who will be collating the corrections to this - board guide, any help with the relevant contact point, please? I appreciate there's a limit to how much you can include in a short guide, but it does need to be accurate. There will be many novice readers who aren't going to click through to any further information and will simply take everything they see at face value.

JoeCrystal

Might be worth posting this in forum feedback section?

Marcon

JoeCrystal said:

Might be worth posting this in forum feedback section?

Please do you have the link? https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/categories/the-weekly-mse-money-tips-email is closed, so you obviously have something else in mind - and I've just searched for it without success!

p00hsticks

Marcon said:

JoeCrystal said:

Might be worth posting this in forum feedback section?

Please do you have the link? 

I imagine Joe is referring to this
  https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/categories/site-feedback

MallyGirl

I have flagged this with HQ

JoeCrystal

p00hsticks said:

Marcon said:

JoeCrystal said:

Might be worth posting this in forum feedback section?

Please do you have the link? 

I imagine Joe is referring to this
  https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/categories/site-feedback

That is the one I had in mind, thanks! I used it when suggesting Auto enrollment forum should be locked. 👍

I had a read through the article as well. I think other point within The 'Money purchase annual allowance' limit section should be mentioned that the defined benefits pensions does not trigger it.

Marcon

Many thanks everyone. Like so many MSE guides this one could be of huge value, so collectively getting it as 'right as possible' would be great.