Mrs Matty A pension woe

[MattyA]

Hi

Is there anyone here who might be able to help / point me in the right direction for some advice please re the Mrs's Pension woes.

I have reclaimed mis-selling of a pension plan to the Mrs when she was young and foolish (married me- lol).
She was told that as a part time Nurse - she was not eligable to join the NHS scheme.
Long story - but after intial rejection, I found a letter confirming the above advice & the claim was upheld.
After many emails - she has received a letter advising her of redress - which has a couple of things that disturb me:

1: It says the redress will be in the form of a 'pension bond' with the very company she has complained about / who has screwed up her pension arrangements.
Can they do this?
She wants the cash to put back into the NHS scheme or another private scheme - whichever is the best option.
2:In calculating the redress due - they have knocked off her state pension entitlement (£6K odd)....can they do this ?
She would get this anyway wouldnt she ,whether she had a private pension or not??

This pension stuff is all new to me , so was hoping someone on here is expert and could give some advice please.

Cheers & thanks in anticipation,

Matty

[MrsD]

Re: Mrs Matty A pension woe

the state pension element is to do with the contracting out thingy, it's as complicated as hell but generally you don't pay as much in NI when you're paying into a private pension and it usually comes back and bites you in the arse anyway. What age is Mrs M anyway and how many years has she worked? I for instance have done my 30 years payments, so have in theory paid for any pension they decide to give me (it I live to be 102 to collect it)

I think they have to put her back to where she would be if she had gone into the NHS pension, which is probably a lot better off.

I don't think she has to take the pension from this company, you can chose who you take your annuity with and any company worth it's salt will give you estimates of what it will pay out.

So you need to find out where she would have been if she's joined the NHS pension.
You need to check what this Bond will provide in the future
If she's over 55 she could take this now which might be the better deal, I've certainly taken all of my wee ones before they go bust and I get squat which happened to my biggest PP.

And most importantly you need to be a major pain in the arse until you get it sorted cos pensions are a con

[mgfboy]

Re: Mrs Matty A pension woe

Hi

Couple of questions first

Is she still in the NHS?
What age is she?

But generally they should put her in the same position as she would have been if she joined the scheme, assuming that the contributions paid into the ppp where the same as she would have paid personally into the NHS scheme.

There are some calculators of the NHS super ann page that may help working out what you should have got.

The pension companies hate these situation because the have to replicate a indexed link pension, which costs a fortune in the open market.

As for who the company is and having the fund with them, it doesn't really matter as because of what they should be replicating.

I would strongly suggest speaking to a IFA or pensions actuary, I can't give formal advice in this area anymore because I no longer carry the license, but more than happy to help on a informal basis.

[mgfboy]

Re: Mrs Matty A pension woe

the state pension element is to do with the contracting out thingy, it's as complicated as hell but generally you don't pay as much in NI when you're paying into a private pension and it usually comes back and bites you in the arse anyway. What age is Mrs M anyway and how many years has she worked? I for instance have done my 30 years payments, so have in theory paid for any pension they decide to give me (it I live to be 102 to collect it)

I think they have to put her back to where she would be if she had gone into the NHS pension, which is probably a lot better off.

I don't think she has to take the pension from this company, you can chose who you take your annuity with and any company worth it's salt will give you estimates of what it will pay out.

So you need to find out where she would have been if she's joined the NHS pension.
You need to check what this Bond will provide in the future
If she's over 55 she could take this now which might be the better deal, I've certainly taken all of my wee ones before they go bust and I get squat which happened to my biggest PP.

And most importantly you need to be a major pain in the arse until you get it sorted cos pensions are a con

I take issue with the above statement, Pensions are not a con in themselves but I do agree badly sold ones can be!!!!

[MrsD]

Re: Mrs Matty A pension woe

mmm

three I've got
they miminal money out nothing like I was promised
had to fight for every penny and the amount went down like a stone when I said I wanted it

big one went bust, ended up with 2000 from the wind up

started all in good faith, so sorry I'v definitely been conned 4 times by pension companies, that isn't a good record

maybe we should say all pensions sold 20/30/40 years ago were cons because they were trying to predict the future, and no one can do that

and don't get me started on the charges and commissions...............

[SXGuy]

Re: Mrs Matty A pension woe

one point id make, watch how many goverments have ripped in to private pension pots and left people with nothing. be very warey.

[mgfboy]

Re: Mrs Matty A pension woe

one point id make, watch how many governments have ripped in to private pension pots and left people with nothing. be very warey.

Very true one of the first things Mr brown did in 1997 was to start taxing the dividend on pensions, it gave the government 6 billion a year but to the same amount out of pension pots!!!!

Ive arrange hundreds of pensions over the years and to my knowledge none of them have gone pop and most are happy with whats happening, they all would like some more growth but we are in strange times!!! As for commission and fees , most pensions are on the equivalent of stakeholder charges now ,so they are fair value and as for commission yep I took it because thats how I made a living, I would normally prefer to work on a fees basis but most people don't actually like to put their hand it their pockets. It does make me laugh when people seem to think , that some how it should be done for nothing

[MattyA]

Re: Mrs Matty A pension woe

Hi

Couple of questions first

Is she still in the NHS?
What age is she?

But generally they should put her in the same position as she would have been if she joined the scheme, assuming that the contributions paid into the ppp where the same as she would have paid personally into the NHS scheme.

There are some calculators of the NHS super ann page that may help working out what you should have got.

The pension companies hate these situation because the have to replicate a indexed link pension, which costs a fortune in the open market.

As for who the company is and having the fund with them, it doesn't really matter as because of what they should be replicating.

I would strongly suggest speaking to a IFA or pensions actuary, I can't give formal advice in this area anymore because I no longer carry the license, but more than happy to help on a informal basis.

Thanks mgfboy.

Yes she is still in the NHS & shes's 48.

If have read all kinds of stuff on this and as you say need some proper advice.

Problem is who to go to & who to trust - after all that has gone on.
I did know and IFA ( A good friends father) but sadly he has passed away.

Hazell Carr PLC have been employed by the the assurance co to calculate the redress.....not sure if they are truly independant or not.

I would be very grateful for any advice ,informal or whatever.....I could do with knowing who to approach & what to ask them.

Its a long story......

She was in the NHS scheme from 1984 up until circa 1987 when we married / bought our first house (those were the days) and used the money to fund restorations.
Aftyer the birth of our first child in 1990 we decided it was time to get out finnaces in order.
After being contacted by a rep of a company that my father had dealt with for years(without problem - he is still happy with them to be fair),we had a meeting where we were advised that she was not eligable to rejoin the NHS scheme as she had reduced her hours from full to part time after the birth of our beautiful little girl.
This advice proved to be very wrong and hence the claim being upheld.
We therefore decided to sign up to a endowment type policy which promised the earth etc etc - but as with all the others purchased by us turned out to be very poor investments.
We cashed it in some years later after years of poor results / returns - By this time we had moved house (big mortgage) had had 2 more children and simply could not afford for the Mrs to rejoin the NHS scheme.

So here we are 15 years down the line in financial doom & reassing every financial commitment , realising that the advice given to us all those years ago was wrong and that it had left us with not a lot to look forward to , I decided to complain.

As I say above I would welcome any pointers / advice.

Matty

[mgfboy]

Re: Mrs Matty A pension woe

There should be nothing stopping her rejoining the pension scheme, it's still one of the best out there if you can afford the contributions.

If you have the paperwork from Hazell Carr PLC, if you want to PM me I can have a little look over it and see what basis they have done the calculation.

But as I said I would get a currently regulated IFA to look over what you have and also to plan what you want. Ask around your friends and see who they get advice from but dont be surprised if they want to charge a fee.

[MattyA]

Re: Mrs Matty A pension woe

Thanks mfgboy.

I dont have the Hazel Carr calcs - just a letter from the insurance co confriming the findings.
Will happily send over for you to have a look at.
Your response and advice to date are much appreciated.
I will glady pay a IFA for having a look over this.

Matty

[mgfboy]

Re: Mrs Matty A pension woe

Thanks mfgboy.

I dont have the Hazel Carr calcs - just a letter from the insurance co confriming the findings.
Will happily send over for you to have a look at.
Your response and advice to date are much appreciated.
I will glady pay a IFA for having a look over this.

Matty

NO probs, but ring them and ask for a copy of the working and a full description of the basis that they did the calculation on.

[MattyA]

Re: Mrs Matty A pension woe

NO probs, but ring them and ask for a copy of the working and a full description of the basis that they did the calculation on.

Hi mgfboy - I have emailed them asking them for detailed breakdowns of their calculations - I have received a description of their findings and how they have come to their conclusions......wouldnt mind if you would be kind enough to cast an eye over it please for your (unofficial / unregulated) opinion?

Should I post it on here?

Many thanks

Matty