Pension contributions in multiple countries

[Aldo]

Hi all, I've searched for similar questions but found nothing so I'm starting a new thread.

I started a pension from day one of my first job in an Irish bank at the age of 21. I was making 3% contribution and the bank was matching that. I worked there for 5 years but then went back to college and essentially forgot about pensions etc.

A year later I began working in the UK (for a much higher salary) and again began making contributions to a pension plan which was being matched by my employer. That lasted for 3 years until today and will finish up at a tidy sum.

Now I'm almost 30 and due to move to France and would like to continue building on my 8 years of pension contributions with my new employer....and should I move on elsewhere in another few years...continue to do the same.

My question is - chances are I'll end up working in 4 or 5 countries before settling in my 'forever' country and might have racked up maybe 15 years worth of pension contributions in those countries. How do I manage this? Is this actually a very bad idea? Should I be trying to transfer pension to next country when I move there (or is that even possible?).

Any advice appreciated!

 

[Jim2007]

Provided you are moving within EU countries or Switzerland then there are indeed provisions to allow you to transfer your pension from one country to another, although it would seem that Irish/UK pension funds try to avoid complying with such measures.

>> Here << is some helpful information from the EU site

>> Here << is the relevant EU Directive on the subject

>> Here << is the ruling against Germany for failure to comply

As to which is the best course of action it is very hard to say as we are talking about a course of action for which we will only know the outcome in 35 years!

Having said that most of my experience has been working with mainland European pension funds and the general impression I get is that they are better regulated than Irish/UK ones.

 

[Steven Barrett]

How do I manage this?

The problem you are most likely to face is losing track of everything and not keeping the providers up to date of your address. Companies merge or get taken over all the time, so it can be difficult to keep track over your working life. If they always have your contact details, they will keep in touch.

The only other thing is to transfer the plan into your own name every time you leave.