Pension refund or Deferred pension - less than 2 years service

[brainsqueeze]

Hi,

I was working in the public sector for 8 months. I left the job for another one abroad within the EU. I have been given three options for the pension contributions that I made.

1. Refund of all normal contributions (less 20% tax) and refund of the pension levy (less 41% - I presume).
2. Transfer of service – to another organization in the Irish public sector (probably not relevant here)
3. Deferred pension – keep the benefits in the scheme but will only get benefit payable based on the value of “your own” contributions.

So my question is am I better off taking the refund of the contributions and the pension levy or leaving it in until I retire in about 30 years?

Thanks

 

[Complainer]

There is no one right answer here. If you go for Deferred Pension, you're relying on the Govt being around in 30 years time to pay your pension. If the Govt defaults in the meantime, you might get some or all of your pension.

Will you be looking for cash to buy a home soon? If so, you might be better taking the refund now.