SERPS etc

Milliemox

Hi - I'm new here and am looking for some advice......

I opted out of SERPS back in the late 1980's and had a personal pension plan which I put on hold in the mid 90's. I joined a large company a few years later and took out their company pension plan - it was a good one.

I'm now in my early forties and am wondering what to do....

Money is pretty tight (I'm single) but I obviously need to plan for retirement:

Do I opt back into SERPS? If yes - can someone explain what it is and how I do it?

I've got two personal pensions - one I don't pay into anymore and the other one is linked to the SERPS?

A company pension plan which will pay me a small amount (I only made contributions for 4 years)

So I'm guess I'm not really going to be rich at retirement at this rate!

Any advice appreciated.

Thanks
Milliemox

jonathon_hart

Hi

Are you paying into a pension plan at the moment (I would double check the personal pension that you used to contract out sometimes payment continue without you realising it)? If not then you'll automatically be opted back in.

If you are paying into a pension is that scheme contracted in or contracted out? Your opting out status depends on the pension scheme - you don't need to elect to opt back in - you elect to stop opting out.

This assumes you have enough pay to be receiving S2P (what SERPS is now called) benefits.

Jonathon

davidlee

Milliemox wrote: »

I opted out of SERPS back in the late 1980's and had a personal pension plan which I put on hold in the mid 90's. I joined a large company a few years later and took out their company pension plan - it was a good one.

I'm now in my early forties and am wondering what to do....

Money is pretty tight (I'm single) but I obviously need to plan for retirement:

Do I opt back into SERPS? If yes - can someone explain what it is and how I do it?

SERPS (the State Earnings Related Pension Scheme) - is paid from State Pension age to the person who has contributed to the scheme. There are also conditions that allow some or all of a person's SERPS entitlement to be inherited by their spouse husband, wife or civil partner when the SERPS contributor dies.

Any SERPS earned from SERPS is reduced if a person was contracted-out (if joined private pension scheme instead of SERPS) during that period.

But I wiould suggest you that you can go for SERPS.

Milliemox

Thanks for your replies - I think I need to dig the original paperwork out and then come back with some answers!

Milliemox

dunstonh

The typical age to contract back into S2P is 45 (men) or 40 (women) unless you are in a contracted out money purchase occupational pension or a final salary scheme which is contracted out. In which case you are contracted out as long as you are a member.