Is this a Contracting out form or pension

1931modela

Having just moved house we are now sorting out piles of paperwork accumulated over the years and we came across this form.

Hoping that someone more knowledgeable then us, can say whether it is a lost pension or as we think to do with Contracting out.

Many thanks,

Image 1.jpg

Marcon

You were paying full rate NI, as was your employer, at the time. Part of this was paid over ('rebated') to the pension provider, meaning you built up benefits within that scheme rather than building up 'Additional State Pension' benefits (SERPS, later State Second Pension) while this arrangement continued.

Your entitlement to the basic state pension wasn't affected and would have continued to build up normally.

So it's a pension, but not a lost one!

1931modela

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81915950#Comment_81915950

Many thanks for your prompt reply Marcon, how would I go about tracing this pension as I am now in receipt of other private and state pensions

JoeCrystal

A quick moment of googling does suggest that Phoenix Group took over Sun Life Assurance Company of Canada (U.K) Ltd in 2023. So they should be first point of call.

https://www.phoenixlife.co.uk/customer-centre/help-centre/welcome-phoenix-life-ca

dunstonh

That attachment is a blast from the past.

Assuming you had rebates after that point (the form doesn't mean you would), the rebates would have been paid to Sun Life Financial of Canada. You would have received an annual statement if the policy became active. SLFoC is now under the Phoenix brand.

If no rebates were ever received, then the plan would not have become active.

If you haven't moved house, then you would have been getting annual statements. If you moved and failed to update your address, then statements would cease but it will still be there waiting for you to update your details.

Marcon

You would have received an annual statement if the policy became active.

Unlikely as the form OP has posted is dated 1989. At the time there was no legal requirement to issue annual statements and therefore schemes didn't generally do so. It's why so many people who took out these schemes ('minimum payments COMPS' for any jargon lovers reading this thread) in the late 1980s and the 1990s forgot all about them.

They weren't personally paying in to them - they just had full rate NI deducted from their salary and a bit later the NI rebate went 'direct' to the pension provider. When light dawned decades later and they had a vague memory of being given a free stainless steel Parker pen, miniature alarm clock or whatever as a lure to start such a pension, trying to track it down wasn't always easy. The provider might have made an effort to contact them but if they'd moved house and post was returned…well, that was the member's fault, wasn't it, so no need to try and trace them until much later in the day…very much later…

1931modela

Thanks for all responses so far, I have spoken to Phoenix who have confirmed they have a profile for me but no details attached to this, they asked me to email the form I have and some other details and they will look into it for me.

Yes I did move twice since 89 and completely forgot about this, so did not update my address details 😯

Marcon

There's another check you could instigate now which might be worth it as a double check. Have a look at a

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

and see my post of 15 May 2021. You'll need to read the whole thread (sorry!) to understand why it might be relevant and of value to you.