small pension (from SERPS)

dcfc67

i used to work as an apprentice for a building company served my time then left 12 months later.
worked for them for around 4- 4 and a half years in mid to late 1980's.
i was contracted out of SERPS and put in a private scheme and used to make additional payments.

i stopped this in 1989 when i got a NHS job and joined their scheme.

I'm still a member of NHS scheme

every year a statement arrives with the units i hold and value.

currently just over £5000.

it states i can take from 55 (nearly 58)

Any advice welcome

i have no plans on touching NHS pension until i'm 60

Marcon

dcfc67 said:

i used to work as an apprentice for a building company served my time then left 12 months later.
worked for them for around 4- 4 and a half years in mid to late 1980's.
i was contracted out of SERPS and put in a private scheme and used to make additional payments.

i stopped this in 1989 when i got a NHS job and joined their scheme.

I'm still a member of NHS scheme

every year a statement arrives with the units i hold and value.

currently just over £5000.

it states i can take from 55 (nearly 58)

Any advice welcome

i have no plans on touching NHS pension until I'm 60

I guess one bit of advice is check your state pension forecast: https://www.gov.uk/check-state-pension

If you need to buy additional years to top you up to the full amount, then you could always cash in this little pension if you don't have the cash to do so.

Make sure you ask your provider if you can do so using the 'small pots' regime. Not all providers offer that facility, but it is useful for two reasons: you don't trigger the Money Purchase Annual Allowance (not relevant to you at present as the NHS scheme is a defined benefit scheme), which would limit contributions if you belong to a defined contribution scheme in the future; and if you take 25% from a 'small pot' as tax free cash, this doesn't count towards the normal maximum total of £268,275 tax free cash you can take from all schemes to which you belong.

dcfc67

As far as i'm aware i was contracted back in so have paid full NI contributions for past 35 years

Albermarle

Regardless of the source of the funds ( SERPS opt out) this will be just a standard DC ( Defined Contribution ) pension. You could 
1) cash it in ( paying tax on 75% of it)
2) leave it for later
3) add more money to it

Up to you really .

molerat

dcfc67 said:

As far as i'm aware i was contracted back in so have paid full NI contributions for past 35 years

But you said

dcfc67 said:
i stopped this in 1989 when i got a NHS job and joined their scheme.

I'm still a member of NHS scheme

Which was also contracted out.

So you need to check the current status of your state pension.  But if you are a few years off retirement you should be pretty close to the full amount.

Marcon

dcfc67 said:

As far as i'm aware i was contracted back in so have paid full NI contributions for past 35 years

Not if you've been in the NHS scheme since 1989...

Mozza001

dcfc67 said:

i used to work as an apprentice for a building company served my time then left 12 months later.
worked for them for around 4- 4 and a half years in mid to late 1980's.
i was contracted out of SERPS and put in a private scheme and used to make additional payments.

i stopped this in 1989 when i got a NHS job and joined their scheme.

I'm still a member of NHS scheme

every year a statement arrives with the units i hold and value.

currently just over £5000.

it states i can take from 55 (nearly 58)

Any advice welcome

i have no plans on touching NHS pension until i'm 60

5k?

I opted out around 1989 (ish) and ten years ago when I started looking into my finances my SERPS pension was 30k.

It's now 60.

When I looked into what I had contributed it was only a few hundred pounds, just shows what 30 years of compound interest can do.

What was yours invested in, Beatamax video?