Enrolment optout options

A question about : Enrolment optout options

When my company was bought some years ago a couple of us moved to the new company but kept our previous Standard Life pension scheme. This has been paid into with no issues until now, I have been informed that I have to be enrolled into the companies main pension provider but I can opt out. My questions are, If I opt out can I force my company to continue payments to SL, and will there be a break in pension due to me being opted in and then opting back out of the other scheme. Also are there any tax implications for me by opting out.

Sorry for all the questions but my HR dept do not have any clue about the above.

Steve

Best answers:

• If your pension is contractual then you are entitled to stay in the current scheme if it is Auto Enrolment compliant. Do you make at least the minimum % payments along with the employer payments?
• Yes I make the correct payments as this is handled by my payroll dept. SL have told me that the scheme I am currently in is AE compliant and will send a letter I can forward to my company.
• I have a similar query: under the terms of a TUPE transfer 18 months ago I was given the option to set up a stakeholder pension by the new employer as I had been obliged to leave the final salary scheme of my previous employer. I have now been advised that the new employer is setting up a pension to which I will be auto enrolled and it will no longer pay into the scheme I set up. I suspect that if I freeze or transfer my existing pension the fees will take a sizeable lump out of this small pot, and I cannot afford to keep it going. Does my employer have the right to do this?