Hi all . I receive pension credit for myself and my wife . My wife receives a small private pension ( £62 per month ) DWP know about this . She now has the option of changing this pension into a one off lump sum in the region of £11500 ,before tax , which would be very useful to clear a few debts ( bank loan , credit cards etc in the region of £7000 . If we decided to take the lump sum how would this affect the pension credit ,would it be classed as income or savings . Thanks in advance.

My former employers have threatened to deduct monies from my pension, They state that if I continue to put information on web sites about what there staff did to me at there plant which ended in my resignation, They have the right to deduct monies to the amount of the settlement figure plus interest and damages to those staff involved under section 19.4, Could you tell me if this is legal that's all I want to know, If not should I report this to the pensions ombudsman I would add this threat was sent by there very high profile solicitor in London. Regards shifty

I apologise if there is a sub forum on this issue but I couldnt find it. I have two pensions an excellent Company one with a considerable pot available which I dont intend to touch and another one from a company I worked for over 20 years ago. It is run by Standard Life. I have about 14k in there and when I spoke to them they said on April 6th I could apply to have it transfered to my bank account. So far so good. My yearly pre-tax income is about 20k but I keep reading conflicting information about how much tax I would have to pay on my cash in. Is there anywhere I can find a calculator ( I have looked) or can give me some advice. Thanks.

Don't know if this is the correct forum, so feel free to move if necessary. So I got two seperate letters from Standard Life pensions. One was a standard single letter and another more detailed set of letters accompanied with a terms and conditions booklet. Apparently someone has set up a pension using my address (but a different name). What do? I am not going to ring up some £3 minute line, plus the Standard Life website has 3 phone numbers and none of them match the employeezone.co.uk one on the letters. The employeezone.co.uk one doesn't match the one on the letters either. I am not going to talk to someone trying to divulge my personal details just to let them know something is odd since they may be the point. I have scanned the letters and removed any details if you want to look at them here: Also I don't want to have my address on some black list, or go through stringent checks just for being a victim of fraud. What is the best course of action? Hi, I've attached the PDF with all the scans. Hopefully someone using my address is a mistake of some sort but I doubt it. edit: The persons date of birth (but blacked out by me) is before I lived at this address, but I've been living at the same address for around 30 years and the persons birthdate is only 1-3 years before that. Doubt they would be registering anything back to this address, assuming the persons details are even legit.

Hi. Would just like some advice on behalf of my 80yr old mum. She had a letter from pension credits asking to fill in income/savings details. Nothing has changed in years, she has just received a letter stating that since dec 2008 they had paid her £15 per month as they didn't know about her private pension. She is sure she told them previously. Can she send a subject access request to get copies of all the old forms she has sent back as she didn't keep copies? Many thanks

Our circumstances have not changed yet we are having a large lump sum for PC paid into our account. Recently we had a visit to our home from the Pension Credit people and they went through a few things with us. I am on Pension Credit and State Pension plus I receive DLA and wife gets PIP plus her state pension. I phoned to query the rather large amount and was told that this was due to an underpayment for the past 24 weeks however this works out to an underpayment of about £120 a week? By my reckoning it should be about £30 a week or a £120 a month. I am wondering if they took the monthly figure and then times it by the 24 weeks? I asked the lady again to give us a breakdown on how this figure was deduced and she repeated what she had said earlier and assured me that it was correct. I asked her to place a note on the file relating to the conversation and she refused stating it would take up too much room. I then asked for a note to be made that I had phoned in and queried the amount and again she refused! She said for us to go ahead and enjoy the windfall however I am not so sure and have concerns. Should we take her advice and enjoy it or write a letter requesting a breakdown of the amount to cover ourselves? Thanks.

Hi all, Simple question really, it would seem that a pension I used to have (occupational) was with Tibbett and Britten group. The pension trustees apparently were wound up in 2012 as far as I can make out, but I still have around 8 years of contributions with this pension fund. What do I do ? How do I access my frozen pension funds from a fund that has been wound up ? This isn't my area of expertise, but I'm sure someone here is an expert

Please Help I am very new to forums and do no if this Thread is in the correct place. What does CAG stand for ? I was due a pension from Aviva 16 months ago, but as I had made a complaint to the Ombudsman about the way in which Aviva had operated during the time I had invested my "bought out option" with them and what their Retirement Illustration offer was then, I have not been able to receive that pension because it was in the hands of the Ombudsman. My original complaint to the Ombudsman was that for the final eleven years of the policy with Aviva they basically froze the interest given each year on the policy, saying that because of poor market conditions the interest for that year would be 0%, but that the final bonuses would still hopefully be possible. I went on believing that nothing could be wrong as I assumed that as they had not mentioned anywhere in all their communications with me over those years that I had not surpassed the GMP value that I would not be granted all the options that were originally offered to me at the beginning of the policy. The policy had a GMP value (Guaranteed Minimum Pension) of over £100,000, which they had conveniently not mentioned until their final letter to me in August 2011. In this letter they for the first also mentioned that they had forgotten to in include final bonuses in their original offer, and that they had also sent me £150 for international telephone calls made by me during the initial period of trying to resolve these queries with them, which they again had conveniently mentioned knowing now that the Ombudsman was now involved. In this letter they had also adjusted the Yearly Pension payment by an increase of £59, which at the time I thought was due to them omitting to include the final bonuses in their original quote. But it was only when I had received their latest illustration did I eventually understand what they were doing. (This I will mention in the next paragraph). To return to the GMP value and what it means or what I found out it means during my discussions with many different Aviva employees after they had sent me their original Illustration was that if you do not reach this magical GMP value you were not entitled to there original offer, which meant that you would loose rights to the options that were otherwise available, i.e. no yearly increase due to RPI; no tax free cash sum; no enhanced benefits and no guaranteed period. What I continue to wonder, but cannot prove, is if the policy had been deliberately kept frozen so that I couldn’t get the options which were otherwise available to me. Especially when you check the inflation rate for those years and understand that things were not that bad in the financial markets and that Aviva during this period was handing out large sums to their top management. I have just received from Aviva there latest Retirement Illustration and again they are still trying to overcome their pay commitment to me for the last 16 months by making out that I have agreed to have my pension deferred and yet I have signed no papers agreeing that I wanted this to happen. This deferred payment increase works out that it would take me nearly 14 years to retrieve the back dated payment, which is due to me. The reason why I could work out what they had done was because of having received their 2nd Illustration in August 2011. It was quite easy then to work out the maths and see that it wasn’t the Final Bonuses that had increased my Yearly Pension then by £59 but they had already deferred it. First of all they should have asked me if I wanted my pension deferred, (who in their right mind would do that, and have to wait so long to retrieve it). I’m sure you would agree that nobody has the hindsight to understand how long he or she have left on this earth. Secondly if anybody has dealt with the Ombudsman they will understand that due their heavy workload it takes time for each complaint to be resolved whether the result is positive or negative and surely I cannot be penalized for that. Unfortunately the Ombudsman could not find any fault with Aviva. I even tried phoning Aviva yesterday (now you have to imagine that this is an International call and that I did explain this to the person that I eventually got to talk to), well first of all it took over ten minutes for anyone to answer, the usual thing you have to wait for an operator to become available. I was then passed from one person then the next, then I was told to wait as I had asked to speak to the person who had sent me the letter in August 2011. The woman came back said that he no longer worked in that office, and so I tried the explain what I was phoning for, she then said again to wait while she speak to the persons who had drawn up the Retirement Illustration (now you can imagine my frustration as I’m paying for the phone call, nearly 30 minutes had passed) when she came back again she started to blind me with words that I really did not understand but gist of which was that Aviva had sent me a letter as early as 2010 and if I hadn’t replied to that letter it was assumed by them that I wanted deferment. I told her that I have never received this letter and that in any case if the 1st Illustration was only sent to me in May of 2011 how on earth would I agree to something I haven’t seen. By this time I must admit I was getting a little angry and so she tried to pass me again to some other person and that’s when I suggested she should get that person to ring me back as I didn’t want to loose anymore money on the phone call. She said that it could take as much as 48 hours for somebody to come back to me. This was agreed and so I hung-up. I was so frustrated after that that I called out for help on the Internet and this site was the first that I checked. It said that there were many complaints against Aviva and so I wondered if there was anybody out there who knows where I stand. I also wondered why, if there were so many complaints against this company, why there is not someone in government trying to control or amend what these large companies are doing. Surely there has to be something that can be done to help individuals’. I believe that the government is again trying to encourage people to take out these “bought out pension options”, as it was when I left my company in 1988, and I bet you that Aviva will be one of the first companies to encourage people to join their pension schemes. I just wonder what these people will have to face maybe in 20-30 years from now. Finally I’m sorry for anybody who may read this as it is very long but then I wasn’t sure how else to tell it. I just hope and pray that if there is nothing I can do, then at least some that do read it will think twice before signing up with these big companies that seem to have all the answers and little mercy for those who have had their money tied up with them for many years, i.e. they take it, they make use of it and then when it’s time for you to want to use it------AH BUT!!!

Pension Wise Pensions will change in April 2015. If you’re 55 or over and have a defined contribution pension (a pension based on how much has been paid into your pot), it’s your decision how you take the money. Pension Wise will be a free and impartial service to help you understand what your choices are and how they work. In order to protect consumers from imitators of the service and ensure the guidance brand is trusted, the government will make the imitation of Pension wise illegal through the Pension Schemes Bill. Anyone seeking to pass themselves off as the service could face prosecution. How the pension guidance service can help You’ll be able to get help on the Pension Wise website, over the phone or face to face about: what you can do with your pension pot the different pension types and how they work what’s tax-free and what’s not Register your interest Pension Wise is coming soon and you can register your interest to get early access to the service. You’ll get help and guidance, as well as being able to give feedback about how the service can be improved. More help and guidance You can get help now with pensions by reading about: the State Pension calculator the new State Pension planning your retirement income You can also get information about pensions from: The Pensions Advisory Service The Money Advice Service

I have been on Pension Credit for about 5 years after doing the initial assessment. Thye have been amde aware of any changes in our circumstances and this is reflected on the documentation we get from them to confirm council and housing benefits. However yesterday we had a phone call from the DWP Pension credit people stating that they wish to visit us again next week and discuss the Pension Credit payment although there has been no change in circumstances and our savings are almost zilch. Last year when the company pension rules changed, we took a lump sum payment instead of the pension paying out over the years and if so it woudl have been about £30 a month maximum. I did also get a small inhertance of about £11,000 in January, but this was used to pay of a HP and a credit card and I think this is allowed under the current rules. As far as I am aware we have always kept them up to date on any changes etc so not sure if it is normal for them to do a check every couple of years? Either way we have nothing to hide from them and have always been upfront however with so many regulations, you never know. Hopefully we have nothing to be concerned about.

I had temproary work from July until mid October when I was laid off due to my arthritis flaring up making it difficult for me to continue work. I then went straight onto ESA supplying the sick notes with the last one taking me to January 2010. It is to be hoped that I will then be fit enough for work and move across onto JSA. However in the meantime I have had to complete a medical questionaire for ATOS regarding my disability which flares up unexpectedly from time to time. I have to use elbow crutches to walk and other aids for dressing, but feel that I am capable of sitting behind a keyboard doing some work plus you get more than when on benefits. If I move from ESA to JSA, will I still be required to go for the medical examination as I hope to be "fit" for work even though 60 and with a disability? Although it seems unlikely, there is a small concern that I may be deemed to be unfit for work as I have to have physio daily and hydrotherapy once a week. The daily physio is done at home by a trained person from social services and the hydro at the hospital which is about 12 miles from our residence and I have to go by car and have some one with me to help me dress. Are the ESA and JSA counted together for the 26 weeks? I have been applying for jobs over the past two weeks, but I am not even get a response so probably be on JSA for awhile.

Seems this is the latest line of unwanted calls from this seemingly bunch of [problematic]. They seem to get their information from Blue Fire marketing who are bulk sellers of personal data. Now, I have no desire to use them as I have my own reliable IFA but I would like to make some effort to stop their calls cos asking don't work ! How about serving a notice under section 10 of the Data Protection Act on both of these monkeys? would it work ( probably not) and what would be the next step Thanks for your thoughts

A free service which helps people locate pension pots they have lost track of will triple its number of staff to meet record numbers of enquiries, ahead of the radical new changes to the pensions system that will come in on 6 April. The Pension Tracing Service helps people to find providers of pensions they have lost contact with, often after switching jobs. Do watch out for rogue companies. There are a number of official looking firms springing up who promise to trace pensions for a fee – steer clear of these as you do not need to pay for the government run pension tracing service. https://www.gov.uk/find-lost-pension

Today, 13/02/15 I received a letter from DWP stating " Dear Mr. X, WHY WE ARE CONTACTING YOU I am conducting an investigation in alleged criminal offences in relation to a claim to benefit. This is a very serious matter which I need to discuss with you urgently. An interview has been scheduled for you to attend at XXXXXXXX Jobcentre Office, XXXXXXXX Lane, on the 23rd of February,2015. Yes, I did apply for pension credit, and yes I did tell the DWP that my wife was working and the she gets a small stat pension but at no time have I tried to defraud them. When them (DWP) notified me that they were stopping my pension credit by letter, I phoned the next available day and said I wanted to appeal. From that day to now I have heard nothing. What should I do?

Hi folks, This thread may be over as soon as it's started... Back in the 1990s I was one of the many people who were mis sold a private pension. There was the Pension Reiview in 1994 and the company who sold me the pension admitted they were incorrect in doing so and offerred redress of around £27k (to be added to the pension pot). Of course, muggins here didn't follow it up and I now realise that there was a time limit (31st March 2000) to accept their offer. I think at the time I must have been under the impression that they would just add it by default, which of course they wouldn't. Question is, is it now too late to do anything about it? Thanks.

Hello, after a massive battle, I have successfully fought and won a backdated payrise which should have been awarded to me 6 years ago. (long story) Anyway the amount has just been paid in one lump sum which they are taking tax and national insurance from as if it was all this years pay, which is fair enough if that is how it works. The problem that I have is that they are taking back payments of pension contributions for the new higher salary, for all of the previous years and it amounts to a fair sum. I am arguing that they cannot treat my backpay as if it is this years salary for tax purposes but then treat it as previous years salary, for pension purposes, can they? I will not benefit for paying the higher pension contributions for the previous years as it was then a final salary scheme, but last year this changed to a scheme where all contributions from that point went into a pot for the future so if the pension contributions went in as this years then it would actually benefit me, plus contributions are at a slightly lower rate now. It would seem that I am being stung both ways, my salary will now look a lot higher this year meaning that I will owe back a lot of ctc, whereas if it was treated as previous years salary for the years it was actually meant to be for, then I didn't claim ctc so it wouldn't have affected anything. I suppose my question is, can they do this? Can they tax it as this years salary and then take pension contributions as if it was previous years salary? I am mad as hell with them, they have had this money for 6 years and earned interest on it when it would have really benefited my family to have had this extra pay when it was due but they withheld it and now they seem to want it all ways, in fairness my judgement might be a bit clouded. Cheers.

Hi Just had to change bank accounts and was rather suprised that I had to notify both departments of the change of account details I expected to only make one call to change my details has any one else had this

Good Morning all, I am wondering if you can help. My partners ex has only been paying CSA for the last 2 yrs after 14yrs of none payment. (He abandonded her after finding out she was pregnant.) He got away with not supporting her mainly due to threats of violence and intimidation. I then came along 2yrs ago, reassured her and advised accordingly that many of these type of bullies never actually follow up on these threats. It is purely intimitation.As predicted, her ex, stuck his tails between his legs and started paying as soon as CSA made a claim against him. However, recently he quit his job after 20+yrs in the Police Force and alledgedly wrapped up his part-time small business which we understand he is now running a bit more, but for CIH. As such he claims that he can no longer afford to pay her CSA although he has his Police Pension. Now his son is 16 and still in full time education. He should still be paying CSA surely. Just because he quit his job, the CSA claim he can no longer pay. Can we make a claim against his pension or any other means? I am only chasing this up as my partner still fears him, and well frankly I think the guy is a bully and got away with it for far too long. He wants nothing to do with his son and we have since found out that he may also have a daughter of the same age. Meaning he got 2 women pregnant at a similar time. All in all a nasty piece of work. My question is this, is there a way we can get the CSA to enforce a payment against him or even enforce a default or similar on his credit file? Any advice welcome.

Hi all, my parents made a claim for pension credit on the 25th November 2014 and have still heard nothing. My mum rang up today and the first person she spoke to said it was inactive, they then told her to ring the change of circumstances number, who told her it was pending, and their bank statements had been sent to the wrong account but they now had them and it wouldn't be much longer. Does anyone know why it is taking this long and one person would say it was inactive and the next person would say its pending? Thanks

hi I am 55 this year and not sure what I need to do...I opted out of serps when it very 1st stated late 70's I believe..I carried on receiving top ups from my national insurance until I started working for royal mail from 2003 when these NI contributions stopped.....what effect will this have on my state pension and can I withdraw a lump sum from this or not..i hope you understand what im trying to say..cheers paul

Channel4 Dispatches programme on the new pension rules. http://www.channel4.com/programmes/dispatches

Apologies for asking such a stupid question but navigating the GOV websites and paperwork has confused me and I am normally good at this sort of thing. I don't know why but today I started worrying about my NICs for state pension even though I am only 40 years old. I am worrying about the qualifying years and having enough credit to claim a full state pension. OK, to be brief: I worked from 18-38 and paid full NI and tax in my job in London so have around 19-20 qualifying years. In Feb 2013 I claimed JSA after being made redundant and was on that for 18 months including my 6 months contribution based, this also included my time at INGEUS up to August 2014 From August 2014 I have been on assessment phase ESA (is that 1 year contributions based even after claiming JSA?) and currently awaiting my assessment (which I will fail as in not get enough points so will no doubt be back on JSA and INGEUS soon after) Although not relevant (I don't think I also get housing benefit) Now, whilst on my JSA and ESA (both C and IB) have I been accumalting credits towards my state pension or would they have stopped atany point so god forbid I struggle for many more years to get a job will I find myself at state pension age with a vastly reduced pension as I think it is 35 qualifying years? As stated, I have built up around 19-20 years to date. Probably panicking well ahead of time but it would be good to know where I stand and also if there is anyone I can contact directly to get a statement. Many thanks in advance

Hi hope some one has the answer for me. My dad who is now in a care home with Dementia, worked for Johnsons wax, he has a pension with them titled 'retirement and life assurance plan'. Does this mean he has life insurance with this plan,(just hoping there would be something to cover funeral costs when the inevitable happens). what I can make of the 'plan' his life was covered while working but doesn't mention in retirement. Have tried phoning the only number I have and being held in a queue with a promisr of a call back which doesn't happen! thank you Jill

Hello friends, My pension fund administrator took a long time due to their system being dis-functional (over thirty days, when it should have been just two days) to register my account and make status of my pension fund available on-line. My pension fund pot is around £25000.00. I really had to continuously call and chase them to fix my problem. Is there any legislation that entitles me to compensation for keeping me deprived of being able to view my pension fund on-line? Thanks

Hi all. I have been reading up on the proposed pension changes in 2015/16 and am slightly concerned about my parents. They are both 68 years old and my Father gets £190.00p/w pension which is including pension credits and my Mother gets £26.00p/w as she never paid any contributions and worked cash in hand (regrets it now) Will they be affected as in my Fathers will drop to the new rate of £148.80 (I think) meaning a drop of £41.00ish and £164.00p/m?! Although they get carers, DLA and housing benefit they just about get by so a significant drop like this will put them right in the mire, or, will it balance out so they do not lose out as a couple? I really am quite concerned about this so any pensions people that understand this more than I do I would appreciate any input. Thanks