What happens to your civil service pension if you leave?

flutterbyuk25

Hey all

I'm 26 and have been a civil servant for 4 and half years and had a civil service pension since I started. I pay approx £45 a month into it and I think this is then matched by employer.

I freely admit I have no clue at all about pensions.

If I was to leave the civil service can I still keep contributing to this pension scheme or would it be frozen as I would no longer be a civil servant?

I am looking for the paperwork about it (which is in a box at moment as have just decorated), but I have a feeling I won't understand it anyway, hence me asking for advice!

Very grateful for any replies.

Thanks

x

dzug

You would stop contributing and it would either be frozen - 'preserved' is the word used I think - or transferred to the pension scheme of your new employer. The guarantees that come with the CS pension are such that the latter may not be wise.

nearlyrich

You should be able to get the answers from your HQ or local HQ there will be someone who deals with pensions questions etc. In the interim the answers I can give you are as follows, you can't contribute to an employer's scheme once you have left but you can leave it frozen till retirement or transfer it into another personal or company scheme. I am not an expert and things may have changed but when I left the civil service if you had less then 5 years service you could get the contributions back ( just your own not the employers) hope that helps.

flutterbyuk25

Thanks both. I will find the person I need to speak to in work to ask next week. I just wanted to have some background info for when I ask.

Thanks again

x

realshannon

Hi, I also did about the same sentence as a DWP staff member! I transferred my pension to my new employers - I seem to recall that they wrote to me and asked me what I wanted to do with it, ie frozen or transfer. If you transfer you dont lose anything or very little. I was lucky and added mine to my new employers which is council pension, but I had already 15years in that pension pot from previous employment. Maybe worth asking new employers about their scheme? I also think the way things are with the civil service, you would be better to move the money especially as it was a fairly short time there - best of luck -:beer:

Andy_L

As you have left you can no longer increase your pension benefits via the Civil Service Scheme.

Check you're paperwork to see if you are in the "Premium Scheme" or the "Partnership scheme"

If you are in Premium then:
You can only get a refund of your contributions if you leave in the 1st 6 months of employment (2 years in Scotland)
If you leave it where it is you will receive a pension worth4.5/60ths of your salary when you left. This will will increase by the RPI every year untill you retire. You may be able to transfer it to another scheme which may or may not bea good idea.

If in Partnership
You can transfer all the money (ie your's & employer's) to another scheme or leave it where it is. Instead of an annual pension ammount you have a pot of cash in your name, this will increase by investment returns until you retire & will then be used to provide with a pension.

flutterbyuk25

Andy_L wrote: »

As you have left you can no longer increase your pension benefits via the Civil Service Scheme.

Check you're paperwork to see if you are in the "Premium Scheme" or the "Partnership scheme"

If you are in Premium then:
You can only get a refund of your contributions if you leave in the 1st 6 months of employment (2 years in Scotland)
If you leave it where it is you will receive a pension worth4.5/60ths of your salary when you left. This will will increase by the RPI every year untill you retire. You may be able to transfer it to another scheme which may or may not bea good idea.

If in Partnership
You can transfer all the money (ie your's & employer's) to another scheme or leave it where it is. Instead of an annual pension ammount you have a pot of cash in your name, this will increase by investment returns until you retire & will then be used to provide with a pension.

Thanks, from what I can decipher in the paperwork I have the Premium scheme.

x

MPD

flutterbyuk25 wrote: »

I pay approx £45 a month into it and I think this is then matched by employer.

Think again, you pay in 3.5% they pay in anything up to 20%