Pension schemes from different jobs - how to deal with them?

[Carmel]

My husband has moved jobs a couple of times in the last 7 years. In each job he was in a company pension scheme. One of the companies doesn't exist anymore. He has just been told that he may be made redundant towards the end of this year, so will be moving jobs again.

What is the situation with having paid into different schemes? Should we try and transfer all the money into one scheme? If not, what records should we have to ensure that he can get the benefits of the pensions on retirement?

I think we probably need to get independent professional advice on what to do.

Any advice on the way to approach this and on who we should talk to would be appreciated. I have taken a look through the key posts but haven't found the answer.

Thanks
C

 

[jpd]

First of all, he needs to contact each pension scheme and find out what entitlements, if any, has accrued. Depending on the length of time he was in each job, he may be entitled to nothing, a refund of his contributions, a deferred pension on retirement (probably very small depending on length of service) or to transfer the funds into a PRSA or a buy-out bond.

Having found this out, he could contact a pension adviser (independant, of course) and go through the various options available and choose the same best suited to his needs.

 

[Judy]

well i was paying a pension in my previous job and when i left was told that i was not entitled to a refund as i was paying for over two years so when i asked them what i should do the girl said to contact them when i was retiring (i'm 25 now!) and they would give it to me then