It was possible to "opt out" of the SERPS part of your pension with a private arrangement.
So you do need to sit down and take advice, not just about the SERPS pension, but about how that fits in with your other assets, including your house, any cash you have and any other pensions.
To trace your pensions and to find out if you have ever contracted out of
SERPS or S2P, all you need is your National Insurance number and, if possible, any relevant documentation.
It allowed you to opt out and have your national insurance contributions, as well as an "incentive", which would have gone to provide a
SERPS pension, transferred to a private pension company instead and invested at your own risk.
11 from
SERPS based on his National Insurance contributions to date.
Commentators suggest that those earning less than pounds 10,300 will be better off contracting in and those earning between pounds 10,300 and pounds 24,600 may be better off contracting back in after April 6 when the new State Second Pension is launched to replace
SERPS.
Since
SERPS was introduced by Labour Pensions Minister Barbara Castle 21 years ago it has suffered repeated attacks by the Tories.
Barbara Castle, Jack Jones and Rodney Bickerstaff - all of these have over the years strived to persuade the Government of the day to restore the link with average earnings and to improve
SERPS, but without success.
I was in
SERPS since 1978 and at no time was I told about the cut.
SERPS was set up in 1978 to provide a state second pension for those without occupational or personal pension schemes.
This arises from a change in the rules for the earnings related state pension
SERPS, made in 1986, but which the Department of Social Security made no move to publicise for ten years.
It hasn't yet cleared up the mess it caused when it launched Personal Pensions in a bid to privatise
SERPS - the State Earnings Related Pensions Scheme - nine years ago.
