Quit Paying into pension scheme?

[tonyt450]

If I was to stop paying into the pension with royal mail after five years paying into it, will i get my contribution back or have to wait for retirement age?

[POSTMAN]

You will have to wait as you've been paying in to it for over 2 years.
Are you leaving the job or just can't be bothered with the pension?

[tonyt450]

fed up paying into it still in employment but would rather take money now. Thanks for reply

[easter bunny]

With respect , you would be mad to leave the scheme .Once out you cannot return.....It is still one of the best Pension schemes in the country..Together with the death in service and IHR , you really need to take Independent advice before making a decision...

You could regret it for the rest of your life...I prey that I didnt pull out of the scheme year ago...

[fishtank]

With respect , you would be mad to leave the scheme .Once out you cannot return.....It is still one of the best Pension schemes in the country..Together with the death in service and IHR , you really need to take Independent advice before making a decision...

You could regret it for the rest of your life...I prey that I didnt pull out of the scheme year ago...

I agree but what pension scheme lies ahead of us is a different matter.
Privatisation could mean a serious re-evaluation of the situation.

[easter bunny]

Who knows what the new company will do with the FUTURE Pension scheme...I think the Government is so keen to Privatise the Company they wont be insistent that the scheme stays as it is....

All current Pensioners and existing payments, up to the day the Company is sold will be covered by the state...Its better to stay in and see what developes...

[baldrick]

The Government is saying they will take over responsibility for the pension scheme if RM is privatised,
That would mean the pension fund assets - £27bn I believe - would disappear into the Government's coffers.
They would be responsible for paying pensions, and it would be possible for them to say it's unaffordable,
and change, freeze, or even cut pensions. :vcfo :dcfo :ncfo

[RobertT]

fed up paying into it still in employment but would rather take money now. Thanks for reply

What do you propose living on in retirement?

[easter bunny]

The Government/Tax Payer will only cover existing liabilities not future ones....

If the Company was sold on 1st June 2011 ,Your Pension would only be covered for Payments you made before that date, anything paid afterwards would be down to the new owners....

[RobertT]

I agree but what pension scheme lies ahead of us is a different matter.
Privatisation could mean a serious re-evaluation of the situation.

Privatisation may well see a change in the pension scheme, but most employers see a pension as a way to attract and keep hold of workers, so any drastic reduction in benefits could be counter productive.
Personally as long as I'm employed I see no reason not to be in any pension that my employer offers me. A lot of companies contribute a % of your wage and the investment charges are often less aswell.

[easter bunny]

Without speading bar room gossip, the new owners could decide to send the workforce directly into the NEST scheme.....

[fishtank]

Without speading bar room gossip, the new owners could decide to send the workforce directly into the NEST scheme.....

That's a frightening thought eb.
NEST is supposed to be a safety net...an own brand minimum cover fail-safe.
If we do end up in there it will be worth looking at other options.

[RobertT]

NEST is supposed to be a safety net...an own brand minimum cover fail-safe.
If we do end up in there it will be worth looking at other options.

NEST is supposed to be for low paid workers who currently have no access to a work based pension scheme.

It would be bad news for everybody if it came in, however the current RM defined contribution plan for new employees has 3 options:
3% employee + 5% RM
4% + 6%
5% +7%
I personally can't see contributions in the relatively near future going lower than these especially as some of our competitors pay more. TNT for example pay 7% with an employee rate of 3%.

It's always a good idea to keep your options open, but if NEST does come in and you're still with RM, the alternatives (assuming you go the pension route) will be a SIPP, stakeholder or personal pension. None of which will give you an employers contribution, which is almost always worth taking.

[macphee1]

Without speading bar room gossip, the new owners could decide to send the workforce directly into the NEST scheme.....

I didn't think an employer could just change a defined benefit scheme into a defined contribution scheme.

[RobertT]

I didn't think an employer could just change a defined benefit scheme into a defined contribution scheme.

They can't as such, but they can close an existing scheme and replace it with another. That has already happened, with the closing of the final salary scheme and it being replaced with the career average one.