Dates that may be referenced on your statement are as listed below. These are when changes took place to how benefits are revalued when in deferment, or increased when in payment: Social Security Act 1985 (Effective for Leavers on or after 1 January 1986) - Introduced revaluation to preserved benefits in excess of Guaranteed Minimum Pension (GMP) earned after 1 January 1985. Social Security Act 1990 (Effective for Leavers on or after 1 January 1991) - Revaluation extended to cover the whole of the member's pension, in excess of the GMP. Annual increase applicable was the increase in the Retail Price Index (RPI), capped at 5% (sometimes known as 5% Limited Price Indexation - LPI). Pensions Act 2008 (Effective for Post 6 April 2009 accrual) - Allowed schemes to reduce the revaluation percentage from RPI capped at 5% a year (as above) to RPI capped at 2.5% for pensions accrued after 6 April 2009. Pensions Act 2011 (Effective 6 April 2011) - Consumer Prices Index (CPI) replaced RPI as the basis for the minimum statutory revaluation. Rules for the pension scheme will determine whether this change was applied to benefits.

I'm 55 in June, I'm taking my 25% lump sum, and then again with my second one at 60. Lifes for living, I knew so many people who didn't get to my age. Don't let it sit in the fund, enjoy it now. Obviously don't totally skint yourself in the process 🎉🎉

Thanks for making a DB pension specific video, Chris! I am unsure why other UK KZfaqrs don't make more of these - considering there are millions of us in these scheme.

Very lucky to have 2 DB schemes, that was the norm when I started work at 16. 45 years later these 2 DB pensions pay all my bills and I have a DC pension that covers the luxuries. If it were possible I’d like to see a national DB scheme like they have in many European countries, it seems a much better system than the 100% DC pension has been foisted on our young people.

i am not fortunate to have any employers who offer a DB scheme, but my wife worked in the NHS for about 10 years so it something that is at the back of my mind for the future, your video sheds light on situation, thanks Chris. Keep up the great work

Hi Chris brilliant and very relevent, i was off 6 options for a mix of DB and DC and was very puzzled by how much tax free cash i could get via commutation, i did a crazy excel sheet and fugured out that each option from the providers point of view were more or less equitable, it was just a question of how one wanted to take it. A tricky thing was working out the tax. My initial thought was min DB and max PCLS. But suprisingly in the end I considerd max DB to better for me personally. What also swung this was that a % of DB would be passed on to my spouse which I thought was really valuable.

Hi Chris, I hope you are well. You made a great video talking about the Fidelity Index World fund. I think it is a great fund for a UK investor who is looking for a simple 100% global equities passive fund, also I think it makes a good benchmark to compare against some other funds. Have you come across a similar passive global fund? Thanks and keep up the great work

Great video. Like many of your listeners I have a mix of dB and DC pensions. The most important thing in my view is understand the computation ratio. At 1:12 assuming you are younger and in good health taking the 25% is probably a bad idea. At 1:23 as per my scheme taking the cash is very appealing as it will protect the capital for inheritance

Good stuff Chris. Don’t suppose you know where I can get a list of the Government Section 148 Orders? HBOS DB scheme increases by these each year from date of leaving until NRD. Thanks in advance

An interesting informative video with subject matter that I have not seen elsewhere. I am fortunate to have a DC pension in payment having taken early retirement and several years into the future will have a DB pension in payment and then a few years later on the state pension. I was aware of the different elements to my DB pension (GMP & non-GMP) and their different increases in deferrment. However, what I wasnt aware of is that there is no tax free cash that can be taken from the GMP element, so thank you for that information. What I find difficult to determine is the decision whether or not to take the tax free cash from my DB pension. As per everything else I suppose that this depends on individual circumstances. Is guaranteed future higher income (although taxed) more important every year than the initial tax free cash and reduced DB pension income ? Can the initial tax free cash be invested (in GIA & ISA) and grow more than the differential higher pension income - probably, but not guaranteed. I suppose a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush - if I go for the tax free cash then I have it and can then do what I want with it and it is in my estate to be passed to my spouse, children or anybody else for that matter. A question that I have concerns DB pension crystallisation and the pension lifetime allowance assuming that this will be reintroduced in the future if there is a change in government. If a tax free crystallisation limit is brought back in say before my DB pension started, if this limit were likely to be breached at some future date would it be worthwhile crystallising my entire DC pension now whilst there is no LTA in legislation ?

I have a DB pension which had a transfer value of £146k when I received a written quote from the administrator 4 years ago, today the latest quote is £112k and the annual pension £1500. I'm going to see a financial advisor and have something signed before I can transfer it over to a SIPP and or buy an annuity which would give £4500 annually ( not inflation proof, of course).

Brilliant as I have 2 final pensions first one due at 60 second at 65 I am currently 54

I wanted to swap my DB to a DC scheme as I wanted to retire at 55 however to do this would of cost me £1000s in fees and on top of that these pension companies wanting to manage my sum of money so in the end I stuck with the DB reluctantly which i retired with.

I was in a local gov scheme between 1991 and 2001 - I guess this is why there are 2 fund references - an FO and a PO. the statement I receive are severely lacking in detail!

I was just forced to retire early because of ill health. It was a bit of a surprise to find out how much you get taxed when you retire due to ill health. The tax charge bill was so large that I had to give up a major lump of pension income to take a lump sum to pay the tax bill. Not only was the multiplier for the lump sum poor I have also lost indexed linked income for life. My retirement has not started well. I do wonder if many people realise you get taxed so harshly if you are forced to retire early because of ill health.

Hi Chris, thank you for the amazing content on the channel. I took 25% commutation from a DB pension in 2017. Since then I’ve been paying into a SIPP, can I also take 25% tax free from the SIPP? Thanks again for the great channel!

the standard opinion seems to be that DB is amazing and anyone who has one is lucky. honestly this just makes me much prefer a DC pension. much simpler, you keep the capital, you decide.

I'm lucky enough to have a defined benefit pension through my job although I've only been paying in for 10 year's to buy an annuity of the same value would cost a fortune I was really surprised .It gives the option of a 25% lump sum and a generous yearly pension in line with inflation and pays out a widows pension .

Take lump sum and stick into dividend shares.

Worked at same company since I was 16 years old ,I'm 55 next year ,got a year to decide what to do regarding my pension ....it is a mine field ...Great video as usual.

My final salary pension was originally supposed to be retire at 65, however somehow the government has move that back retrospectively to 67. 2 years of pension robbed. Now I don’t work in local government so I cannot contribute to increase it. Makes my blood boil when people say it’s gold plated given I signed up to retire at 65 and paid into to it and they are stealing my pension and by not giving pay rises during austerity years meant my pension was devalued by inflation as it’s not index linked until you retire.

if you trigger a DB scheme and take tax free cash, does that trigger MPAA? if not, can you take the tax free lump sum and pay it into your pension/SIPP to protect it from IHT?

8 minutes. ... and people have previously commented that DC pensions are complicated! This is horrendous and just shows how adjustments in legislation and in scheme rules compound complexity. In contrast, buying an annuity using all, or part, of your DC pension pot is relatively simple and, whilst you are young, it appears to provide poor value relative to drawdown, it does provide massive risk mitigation. Edit: having now watched the remainder of the video (very good) the choices for a single pension are not too complicated but the choices available do seem to vary considerably depending on the scheme rules and each scheme has different rules, so when it comes to making decisions on each scheme, we're back in the mire: normal retirement dates - 60, 62.5, 65, state pension age, can, or cannot, retire early, or late. I have three DB pensions from the first 20 years of my career, each one having different rules, so all the options have made it difficult. One particular pension had higher benefits pre age 62.5, lower benefits from 62.5 to 65 and then increased from age 65 - I never did work out what was going on there and I couldn't afford to retire before age 62.5, so no, it wasn't a no-brainer!

My deferred benefits pension states that I have a pre-97 and/or post 97 excess of £6900 & a Guaranteed Minimum Pension of £487. Then in another area on the website, under quote history it states my deferred pension in the scheme at the start of the year is £15000. so which is the figure I use as a basis of what I will get paid at normal retirement age (in this case its defined as 62)?

Hi Chris - thanks for the video. What is not clear to me is if I can “transfer” tax free allowance between pensions. For example, if I have two pensions a) SIPP and b) final salary scheme. For simplicity let’s assume that that they are £100k each (£200k total) at the time when I am 57 and reach my minimum pension age. Can I at this point use my 25% tax free allowance i.e. £50k but take it all out of the SIPP leaving the final salary untouched and just start to take normal income from the final salary scheme at the age 65?

If I have multiple pensions with multiple employers what happens if I take a lump sum with one does it affect the others if I want to remain in the schemes

Hello Chris, I don't know if you know of this big pensions issue, but there is a long delay with my HL SIPP this year in allowing me to claim my annual UFPLS withdrawal. They sent me a form a few weeks ago ready for the new tax year and then said it was void due to new government regulation changes. Then did the same again last week. I'm still waiting for a valid UFPLS request form and am rapidly running out of last year's cash! Is this a UK-wide phenomenon, and how come it hasn't made national news? Thanks, Nick

Our DB finished in 2016 when the government changed the rules, so I hadn’t left the scheme- the scheme closed.

My DB scheme, with one specific employer, closed and a separate AVC was contributed to. Apparently this gives benefits such as being able to take tax free cash from the AVC element without affecting the DB amount, is this normal ?

Quick question, can a private pension provider refuse a policy holder to make increased monthly payments into their pension, unless they prove in writing they have consulted an independent financial adviser.

depending on the individual scheme some increase by RPi other CPI. Mine was RPI and was increased by 25% ish over 10 years. I am happy with the certainty and spousal benefits (plus it was based on a generous 60ths)

The barrier to being able to transfer out a DB pension is stupidly difficult to negotiate ( and made deliberately too expensive as an extra deterrent), obviously it's not right for every one but if you get a good offer from your scheme it's well worth considering and comes with the unique benefit that if you pre-decease a partner they will be able to continue to draw your full pension rather then the 50% most schemes offer, also you can take the 25% tax free each year as part of your income which reduces your tax bill across your whole retirement.....

Is it true Labour are going to tax final salary limp sums and go after pension funds.

DB is a boomers privilege...an another one. Now I would need to contribute at least £1000/month to DC to be able to get near to DB pension scheme.

I worked for fifty years long hours low pay retired now because I worked for so long I get less of a government pension than someone who couldn't be bothered to get off their arse and get a job they get the rest made up on benefits