Pension company not telling me what my pots worth

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singhini
singhini Posts: 553 Forumite
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in Pensions, annuities & retirement planning
ive got a pension pot from a previous employer and I was wondering what the pot might be worth so I rang the number on some old paperwork.
I was told that they cant tell me over the phone but they will write to me with the information.


Three weeks passed and I received nothing so I rang them yesterday to ask where is the paperwork (I was told that they were calculating what the pots worth and will email me the info tomorrow). Well tomorrow is now today and I still haven't got the information:(


Q1 - Is it normal practice to "work out what the pots worth"? (I thought they would know this information on a daily basis).


Q2 - Also all my other pension providers write to me on an annual basis to tell me this information yet this pension provider doesn't send me anything, I have to ring up and request a valuation (is this normal, I thought all pensions providers had to send annual statements)?


Any thoughts
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Comments

  • PeacefulWaters
    PeacefulWaters Posts: 8,495 Forumite
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    Is it a defined benefit pension?
  • Terron
    Terron Posts: 846 Forumite
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    I had pension providers for company schemes not update me afer I stop working for them, until I requested an update.
  • ischofie1
    ischofie1 Posts: 215 Forumite
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    It sounds like this previous pension is a DB type.
    You would not receive annual statements on this and they would need time to calculate its transfer value.
  • xylophone
    xylophone Posts: 44,407 Forumite
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    Is this pension a deferred Defined Benefit Pension?

    If so, you might not necessarily receive annual statements.

    In one scheme I knew, the deferred pensioner would simply be given a statement on leaving, told to update the Trustees with any change of address and to claim the pension at Scheme Normal Pension Age.
  • dunstonh
    dunstonh Posts: 116,370 Forumite
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    ive got a pension pot from a previous employer and I was wondering what the pot might be worth so I rang the number on some old paperwork.
    I was told that they cant tell me over the phone but they will write to me with the information.

    If it is a defined benefit scheme, there is no pot. No need to give statements.
    If it is a defned contribution scheme, there is a pot and you get statements on a 6 or 12 monthly basis. Valuations should be easy to get.

    I suspect, like the others above, that its a DB scheme and you are mixing things up a bit.
    I am an Independent Financial Adviser (IFA). The comments I make are just my opinion and are for discussion purposes only. They are not financial advice and you should not treat them as such. If you feel an area discussed may be relevant to you, then please seek advice from an Independent Financial Adviser local to you.
  • singhini
    singhini Posts: 553 Forumite
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    Hi everyone and thanks for all the replies.


    apologies for my ignorance but if DB means final salary pension then yes that's what it is.


    ive just spent the last half hour looking at all my paperwork and I must have called them back in 2015 aswell as they have sent me out the info (obviously its now 2 years out of date). The 2015 info suggests the "transfer value" is £80,000 and based on this my annual pension will be about £3,500 when I turn 65


    I worked at this place for about 7 years and even though its a final salary pension the £3,500 is rubbish (I would rather leave it with them until I'm 54 and transfer it into a cash SIPP and when I turn 55 and retire start to take the money as cash withdrawals: taking £11,500 each year out thus avoiding income tax and spending all the money over 7 ish years)
    Everyone keeps saying final salary pensions are brilliant - well my one isn't its a bag of old nails boo hiss :(


    So to take onboard peoples advice I should wait to allow them time to calculate the figures and its normal to have to ring up periodically for the info with a DB style of pension
  • singhini
    singhini Posts: 553 Forumite
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    Hold on; ive just had a thought: if its a final salary pension then the pot wont go up or down (the £80,000 pot will always be £80,000) and I will only ever get an annual pension of £3,500


    So I might aswell take the money now and stick it in my SIPP (atleast I will have ownership of the money)
  • xylophone
    xylophone Posts: 44,407 Forumite
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    Are you sure that you understand how your DB pension works?

    When exactly did you work for this company?

    What is shown on your statement of deferred benefits on leaving?

    What is normal scheme pension age?

    How is the pension revaluing in deferment?

    How does it escalate in payment?

    Have you obtained a new state pension statement?
  • singhini
    singhini Posts: 553 Forumite
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    xylophone wrote: »
    Are you sure that you understand how your DB pension works?

    When exactly did you work for this company?

    What is shown on your statement of deferred benefits on leaving?

    What is normal scheme pension age?

    How is the pension revaluing in deferment?

    How does it escalate in payment?

    Have you obtained a new state pension statement?

    Thanks for your post - no I don't have a clue about pensions and I cant answer any of your (very good ) questions (but I will get onto it first thing in the morning and look into them).


    Note to myself: I hate pensions, I don't understand them, the government changes the law constantly, and I'm probably not going to live that long anyway (I just do pensions since my employer makes contributions and I am allowed to put my money in tax free) otherwise I would not do them
  • Terron
    Terron Posts: 846 Forumite
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    My finalsalary pension is will about 4k a year when I am 60. That is from 5 years work where my final salary was 26k. 5 years of 1/40th of my final salary per year, adjusted for inflation.
    Note that the pension itself would be inflation linked.

    It may be a bag of nails but it is at least a bag of shiny new nails thanks to the inflation linking.
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