ROYAL MAIL PENSION QUOTE AT 55 DONT UNDERSTAND

Marcon

@dasherman - any chance you could check directly with Royal Mail and get a definitive answer please on whether the Defined Benefit Cash Balance scheme actually has safeguarded benefits and if not, why people on the RM Chat Forum are being told they have to receive regulated advice before they can move the money? Given they have to transfer out at retirement, is RM apparently telling them they must receive advice then? It might be very helpful to those posties who are trying to transfer their benefits from that section and are struggling to do so.

xylophone

Bunman appears to be saying that he joined RM after 2008 in which case he can have only DC/CB benefits?

If (as Dasherman indicates) the CB only (3 years contributions) benefits are likely to be worth under £30,000, then even under the SB route, he would not be required to take advice.

If he has DC benefits of any value, he would not be required to take advice.

All in all, it is difficult to understand why Bunman was advised that advice was required.

dasherman

Will do, although I'm actually on holiday from today and won't get a chance until I return.

RMPP members don't have to transfer the Cash Balance out, but it is an option.

For section A, B & C members it's designed to fund tax free cash when taking their DB Age65 benefits.

But as it was only supposed to be a short term transitional scheme while the CDC legislation was set up and as that process took a lot longer than expected, it's become very tax inefficient. Hence why some want to transfer out for drawdown.

Section F members won't have any DB pension, because they joined RM after the DB scheme closed to new entrants in 2008. So their options are to take it all as a UFPLS, or transfer out.

I know from experience that getting straight answers from RM pensions is difficult, as their left hand doesn't seem to know what their right hand is doing.

There is obviously some confusion here. With one hand the very name Defined Benefit Cash Balance Scheme suggests it may have safeguarded benefits, but the info I've read says cash balance schemes aren't safeguarded.

It's typical Royal Mail!

Xenon

Royal Mail pensions are a convoluted mess