Lead in time and paperwork required before starting my pension.

My pension provider, Mercer, are telling me that they need two months to organise the paperwork for my pension. The paperwork is sent to me three months before I am due to receive my pension. This gives me one month to make an enquiry. Past experience from this company I have found that it can take up to one month for them to answer an email

A few questions. Why do they need two months?

I have an Defined Benefit Pension but also a Defined Contribution pension in the form of a lump sum AVC made. I have no control over the date that they encash the units in my AVC. It could be anytime over the two months seemingly. Can I choose the day that they cash these or am I at their mercy?

I am told they will send on the end figures in due course.

Should the process not start at least six months before the pension is due to start.

I am a deferred pensioner and I haven't even received a booklet or anything from them about pensions.

I have often wondered about this. The Stock Market has improved since Trump/Brexit but there are certain days when it drops dramatically. I often wonder do the pension providers such as Mercer even notice this or is it all in a days work for them.

To mature a defined contribution pension with an insurance company and set up the post retirement plan usually takes a month. Defined benefit schemes take more work. A lot of this time is purely based on the volume of cases they have to go through. It's not that they will be working on your case for 2 months, it's that your paperwork will be sitting in a pile for a number of weeks before anyone checks it. Then funding checks have to be carried out to ensure you are not over revenue limits. In the case of Defined Benefit, scheme funding checks have to be made. Then everything has to be double checked and signed off before payments are made and annuities/ ARF's are put in place.



Steven
http://www.bluewaterfp.ie (www.bluewaterfp.ie)

Back in the 1970's when selling shares you would have to write to your stockbroker, enclosing your share certificate when you wanted to "sell". Maybe a week later you might get something in the post to tell you that the shares have been sold and the price you achieved.

Fast forward to the year 2000. I want to sell my shares and I go online and see the actual bid/offer spread on the shares. I either sell them myself or ring my stockbroker and I can see my actual trade taking place online.

This system whereby my units, waiting to be sold are left sitting in someones "to do" pile for up to two months is to say the least antiquated. It is obvious that it is just a daily job for someone who has absolutely no interest in the price achieved for the pensioner.

When I sell shares I am active in the process. The price I achieve for my 30 years of my pension contributions means a lot to me. The pension provider should involve me in this process either by allowing me to lock in the price I get for my units on a specific day or at least having a discussion about it.

Why don't you put the AVC into a cash fund - then you don't need to worry unless you plan to use them to buy an annuity. In such case you should have them in a bond fund.
Instructions to move funds are processed at the price ruling at end of day that instruction is received by the life company.
You can copy the life company on the request as well as Mercer, if it is Irish Life the email address is code@irishlife.ie

In my case I was told by Mercer to have my documents returned to them two months before the pension was due. Eventually I got a letter telling me the amount of the encashed funds but no further breakdown.
I do not know the date they were cashed, the price of the units on the day, whether there were fees or charges. I do not know how long Mercer had my money for. Was the money held in my name or in Mercer's name while their administration process was taking place.
I certainly felt that I was at the mercy of Mercer throughout the whole process with very little information being provided to me.

Kimmagegirl said:

Was the money held in my name or in Mercer's name while their administration process was taking place.
I certainly felt that I was at the mercy of Mercer throughout the whole process with very little information being provided to me.

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I would image that there are hundreds of millions of Euro's of pensioner's money sitting in the bank accounts of pension providers waiting to be moved to pensioner's accounts but not being moved because of "administration delays" and just missed "payroll cut off" times and other nonsensical excuses.
It would be interesting to know what are the parameters that the pension providers are required to have in these instances, if any.

Monies should be held in the pensioner's name and not for the benefit of the company.

Mercer do not hold the money. Pension schemes are held under trust.

If a benefit is due to be paid in January and because of delays, they miss the payroll date, a double payment will be made the following month.

I have come across a lot of bureaucracy and incompetency in this industry over the years but I have never come across an administrator or provider delaying payments and not making good on it.

Steven
http://www.bluewaterfp.ie (www.bluewaterfp.ie)

In my case I waited 30 years to get my pension. When it was due, the above named company contacted me and told me that it would not start on the due month, but a month later. This is despite me having provided them with all the paperwork a month before my pension was due.

I havn,t heard of due pensions NOT being paid.
After 30 years, a month here or there , is it worth quibbling about ? or worth checking to see?
May just be pension paid monthly in arrears etc.
I would think anyone coming due a pension ,should proactively start chasing up @ least 3 months before pension is due.
One month ain,t long in admin terms !