Mum can't get her full pension pot even though she hasn't taken anything

A question about : Mum can't get her full pension pot even though she hasn't taken anything

Hi, my mum has just been told off her employer Barclays that she can have a lump sum tax free payment from her pension and then a small yearly payment for life. I told her to ask what her pension fund value is but they say that there isn't a figure because it is not an average type of pension.

They say the reason for this is that the pension is called a 1964 ukrf pension and it ceased in 2010 so it does not come into the new regulations that kick in, in April because the pension was already finished 4 years ago. My mum has not taken any money from her pension yet so I thought that she may be able to take all of it (if she chose to and she understands the tax implications) because my Mum has very ill health and my dad does not have a private pension. I would hat the thought that my dad would struggle if my mum died in the next few years.

Does this sound correct or does anyone think that she should be allowed to choose. It sounds like Barclays have already handed the pension pots over to an annuity as soon as they closed the pension in 2010. Here is a link to the pension that may help any experts out there

https://reports.barclays.com/ar12/fin...tbenefits.html

Best answers:

• Is there definitely a 'pension pot' has she been given a figure for the pot?
  Not all pensions have a pot in which case she won't be able to draw it.
• The pension is Defined Benefits (sometimes known as Final Salary). So there is no personal pension pot and the pension wouldnt come under the new rules anyway. She may be able to get a transfer value and then transfer the pension to a private pension which could be accessed under the new rules.
  Normally transferring a DB pension is a bad idea since the Transfer Value tends to be significantly less than the cost of providing equivalent income. However in her case with life shortening ill health there may well be a case for a transfer.
  Suggests she discusses her specific circumstances with Barclays pension people.
• No, Barclays said there isn't a 'pot'
• There isn't, she must ask for a Transfer Value. this is the amt it would be worth if it was transferred to a DC pension. Which is a pot.
  How ill is she, and how long dies her doctor say she will live?
• Your mother has a defined benefits pension.
  https://www.moneyadviceservice.org.u...pension-scheme
  https://www.unbiased.co.uk/pensions-transfer
  If she wants to explore transferring it to a personal pension, it is likely that even under the current rules, any receiving scheme would require her to take the advice of an Independent Financial Adviser qualified in pension transfers and under the new rules
  https://www.gov.uk/government/upload..._transfers.pdf
  "The government will require every pension scheme member who wishes to transfer
  out of their defined benefit pension to take advice from a professional financial
  adviser who is independent from the defined benefit scheme and authorised by the
  Financial Conduct Authority (FCA).
  The government will issue new guidance to trustees on how to use their existing
  powers to delay transfers from schemes if the scheme is at risk, and to reduce
  transfer values to reflect scheme funding level."
• She has had a heart attack and has breathing problems so she will be finishing work due to ill health. I will tell her to ask about the transfer value thanks
• Its a 'years of service' x 1/60th x final salary Pension.
  How many years pensionable service does she have at Barclays?
• Is she taking her pension early on grounds of ill health?
  What does her scheme booklet say about this?
• Your mum can find more details about her pension here...
  https://www.barclayspensions.co.uk/
  ...and here...
  https://barclays.tbs.aon.com/logon.aspx?ReturnUrl=%2f
  She will have to register if not already.
• She has been ill for 2 years next month and so they have told her she is finished then. Apparently you can't go longer than 2 years. She has also been told that because she is older than the state retirement age they do not have to give her ill health retirement so will only get her holiday pay etc
  She has a meeting with them soon so I will tell her to make sure she finds out about the spousal payments
• He pension should have been payable from 60 or 65. Ask how much she would get from this deferral?
• What difference does 'ill health' retirement make? Surely as she is well over the Barclays Final Salary pension age, she will get the full benefits (plus perhaps more for the deferment) anyway?
  I'm fairly sure that my Barclays Final Salary pension is available from 60. I'll check when I get home.
• As I recollect from the case of another Barclays pensioner, the Scheme Retirement Age for DB pensioners was 60.
  Was your mother working for Barclays before she was 60?
  If so, was she not contacted when she reached that age by the Scheme Administrator? How could the Administrator not have known her DOB?
  Did she opt not to draw her pension?
  Do you mean that she has not actually been into work for two years but has been on sick pay?
  Does your mother have a scheme booklet or can she log on to the the Barclays site as detailed in post above? This should show what benefit would be payable to a surviving spouse?
  Is your mother drawing her state pension?