"rick stevens" wrote in message
...
Hi

Not sure if this is the right newgroup to ask ths, but here goes.

As part of a TUPE process, i have been given a one off chance to join my
new employers final salary pension scheme.

The information I have says your pension is based on your pensionable
service, and final pensionable pay in last 12 months.

The formula to calculate the pension is 1/60 x fpp x ps.

What exactly is pensionable service? Is it the number of years I have
been in the scheme?

Also, I am now 45, and have no other pension provision, is this worth
doing?

thanks for any advice

Rick

IMHO you grab it quick before the employer takes it away.
the best example to understand what a 60ths scheme is is to imagine a
standard 40 years pensionable service, therefore 40/60 = 2/3 so you get
2/3rds of your final salary as a pension.
Up to 2008 the local government pension scheme used to be an 80th scheme....
so choosing the above example that is 40/80 = 1/2 so you get half of your
final salary as a pension. Incidentally this scheme is now a 60ths scheme
with improved pension!
Pensionable service is as you say is number of years in the scheme (this
assumes that you are working a full working week and this is not reduced
pro-rata for part time working)
In my case I was an apprentice for 5 years and so was not a member of the
scheme until I became a fully fledged employee.
The most difficult definition to grasp is pensionable pay...which is not the
same as gross pay...or net pay. In the british steel pension scheme (not
sure if its the same for all schemes) it is gross pay minus single persons
state pension, irrespective of whether you have a full state contribution in
terms of 44 years for a male (or 30 years after 2010) .
At 45 you may not get a lot of service in, however the scheme may allow
additional voluntary contributions of years of service whereby you pay extra
to buy these additional years. Its worth asking... but only if you can
afford the cost. The scheme will give you the costs if you ask for any
numbers of additional years.

Summarising, these schemes are a dying breed and are really unsustainable
especially in businesses which have high salaries (such as steelworkers,
rather than shopworkers), so you go for it....unless you have a chronic
illness which is going to have you deceased early...in which case you may
not even need a pension.
But... if your a healthy 45, with no defects, and healthy then do take them
up. If its a large company the scheme might last, but if its a small company
it will be closed sooner rather than later, but even if it is you become a
deferred pensioner with protected rights.