Advice about SERPS

[just_jue]

Hi, I am after a bit of advice. I was browsing the web and noticed that their is a claims company who take on cases were you opted out of SERPS.

Was opting out a bad thing?

As I was recommended to opt out in the late eighties by my old boss who went on the be a financial adviser.

I cannot remember if at anytime I opted back in but wondering if any one else has some advice.

 

Thanks

 

JJ

[madhater]

Me and my friend used a company late last year. We were still opted out. After they looked at our schemes we were told to opt back in.

I lost my claim but my mate won his. He was hoping that he would get cash but it was paid, or will be paid into his pension i dont think it is finished yet..

 

They gave us other help with the pensions too. They were pretty good.

 

I calimed on my endowment 2 years ago and got cash, but had to pay almost half of that to the company. So be careful.

 

My mate says he has signed an agreement where he will not have to pay a fee.

 

Good luck..

[honeybee13]

Hi, I am after a bit of advice. I was browsing the web and noticed that their is a claims company who take on cases were you opted out of SERPS.

Was opting out a bad thing?

As I was recommended to opt out in the late eighties by my old boss who went on the be a financial adviser.

Was s/he an authorised adviser at the time? If it was just a conversation between friends or colleagues, then you may not be covered by the FSA.

I cannot remember if at anytime I opted back in but wondering if any one else has some advice.

You may be able to figure out if you are contracted in or out of S2P, as it's called now, by the amount of NI you pay. If you can't do this, your payroll department should know. Alternatively, if you contracted out via a Personal Pension, the DWP would be able to tell you. And you should be receiving annual statements from your Personal Pension provider.

 

Thanks

 

JJ

 

I'm sorry to reply so late; I only just spotted this post.

 

HB

[just_jue]

Hi Honeybee, thanks for looking at my post.

My old boss was a financial adviser at the time.

I can't go through my NI contributions as I have been self employed since 2002.

 

Thanks

 

JJ

[honeybee13]

Well self-employed people can't be in SERPS, I don't believe, so that part should be simple.

 

If you were a client of this adviser and you have a case, you might be able to pursue this. Have you looked at the FSA website? I think that should have information. That's where I would start. If it doesn't help, come back here and I'll try to think of something else.

 

My best, HB

[just_jue]

Thanks HB. I was employed when I opted out (I think is was 1988-1989) and became self employed in 2002. I will go and have a look at the FSA.

Just done some research regarding the company he was working for (General Portfolio) and they were brought by French group Gan in 1990, will this matter at all?

 

Thanks again for your time

 

JJ

[honeybee13]

Hello again. I think you will need to ascertain if this man was an employee of General Portfolio or self-employed at the time. If he was an employee, I would hazard a guess that you will need to speak with Gan, but I haven't read the FSA website recently.

 

You need to be sure about the date, I don't remember offhand what year the Financial Services Act came in except it was late 1980s. I should go and read it myself in case you ask more questions.

 

My best, HB

[just_jue]

Hi, I have done a pension trace via direct.gov we site to see what they come back with.

Also at the same time my wife (who also worked at the same place) was signed up to opt out of serps as well by our old boss.

She is employed.

 

It is confusing reading all about the pension problems. If I have read right opting out of serps was a good idea if you were under 45 (I was approx 18, my wife 19), and you were earning over 10k (I was earning less than 10k at the time, and my wife was only working part time due to the birth of our first child).

 

Sorry for all the questions.

 

JJ

[honeybee13]

Hello again. I'm a bit rusty on all this, as it's so long ago .

 

Yes, that sounds like the sort of guidance we had at the time about SERPS.

 

I think it could be worth a chat with the FSA helpline to see where you stand. The few times I've rung, they've been pretty good, but you can always ring more than once if you're confused or need more information.

 

If you're entitled to claim, which is something I've never dealt with, but the FSA should know, I imagine you're going to need paperwork to show what advice you were given at the time. Have you kept anything like illustrations you were given and letters recommending why you should opt out?

 

My best, HB

[just_jue]

Thanks HB, i will have a look around and see if I can find anything but it was over 20 years so I don't hold much hope. I will see what comes back from the pension search I have done.

 

Thanks again for your time

 

JJ

[honeybee13]

You're welcome. Don't forget the FSA helpline, they're the people most likely to have the information.

 

My best, HB