Locate pension

dont_use_vistaprint

I vaguely remember opting out of SERPS at a company in 1988 or 1989. I’ve given my pension tracer the company name (which is now dissolved) but they said they can’t find anything. Yet when I use the governments tool with the company name it brings up 

National Employment Savings Trust -  TATA Consultancy Services Ltd

Should I just contact them directly ?  

Will collecting anything from this impact my state pension at all ?

Silvertabby

How long did you work there?  If less than 2 years, then it's likely that you failed to meet the vesting period and so would have been offered either a refund of your own contributions or a transfer to another pension scheme.

If over 2 years, were you issued with any paperwork/benefit statements after you left?

dont_use_vistaprint

I think it was 3 -4 years but not sure when in that period  I signed the SERPS opt out box. I think I joined in Nov 1988 & was earning very good money 700-1000 per week before tax, on average  with bonus and overtime. I never got any paperwork or correspondence when I left & the company was dissolved shortly after

Marcon

dont_use_vistaprint said:

I think it was 3 -4 years but not sure when in that period  I signed the SERPS opt out box. I think I joined in Nov 1988 & was earning very good money 700-1000 per week before tax, on average  with bonus and overtime. I never got any paperwork or correspondence when I left & the company was dissolved shortly after

Apologies for the jargon that follows...

If you opted out of the company's pension scheme (and from what you've said it sounds possible), there won't be any benefits to find in respect of your service with the company.

If you had to sign something to 'opt out' (the relevant bit of jargon is 'contract out') of SERPS, it's possible that your employer didn't offer a pension scheme and you set up what was then one of those new-fangled things called an 'appropriate personal pension'. You would have paid full rate NI, and part of that contribution would have been paid over, or 'rebated', to the personal pension provider. You wouldn't have had to make actual contributions unless you chose to do so.

dont_use_vistaprint said:

I vaguely remember opting out of SERPS at a company in 1988 or 1989. I’ve given my pension tracer the company name (which is now dissolved) but they said they can’t find anything. Yet when I use the governments tool with the company name it brings up 

National Employment Savings Trust -  TATA Consultancy Services Ltd

Should I just contact them directly ?  

Will collecting anything from this impact my state pension at all ?

NEST didn't exist back in the 1980s, so no idea how that's come into the picture. Maybe just a company with a similar name to the one which was dissolved back then?

If there is a pension to find, collecting it won't impact on your state pension.

dont_use_vistaprint

HMRC App says I will get 221 per week and I can’t improve the amount but also says 

You’ve been in a contracted-out pension scheme

Like most people, you were contracted out of part of the State Pension.

Marcon

See https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6267734/is-there-a-really-detailed-online-method-to-check-nics#latest

Make a request as suggested in the second post in that thread, then read on (sorry, it's a long thread!) to see why it could help you track down your 'missing' pension.

dont_use_vistaprint

Marcon said:

See https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6267734/is-there-a-really-detailed-online-method-to-check-nics#latest

Make a request as suggested in the second post in that thread, then read on (sorry, it's a long thread!) to see why it could help you track down your 'missing' pension.

Wow, interesting you need to use a SAR! I’ll do it thanks. 

assuming the  HMRC app is saying that I was contracted out for a valid reason ? And doesn’t just say that for everybody, my age?

MallyGirl

it doesn't say it for everyone

Marcon

dont_use_vistaprint said:

Marcon said:

See https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6267734/is-there-a-really-detailed-online-method-to-check-nics#latest

Make a request as suggested in the second post in that thread, then read on (sorry, it's a long thread!) to see why it could help you track down your 'missing' pension.

Wow, interesting you need to use a SAR! I’ll do it thanks. 

assuming the  HMRC app is saying that I was contracted out for a valid reason ? And doesn’t just say that for everybody, my age?

It'll be because that's what their records show. Your age isn't relevant.

xylophone

Are you saying that to the best of your knowledge, this was the only contracted out scheme of which you have ever been a member?

dont_use_vistaprint

xylophone said:

Are you saying that to the best of your knowledge, this was the only contracted out scheme of which you have ever been a member?

I’m actually assuming it was a  pension from 1988/89  because I do remember forms being passed around for opting out of SERPS, and everyone was doing it, so I did the same. I’ve no idea if I was in a pension or not.

The only other pensions I’ve been a member of were LGPS from 2004 for around 10 years, then two private pensions 2015-2023. Could it actually be one of these ?