What sort of changes has the government made recently? Can you explain please? It will help me to understand the situation.
I was in the final salry pension scheme for 30 years and therefore I had no alternative than deferring the accumulated pension when they transferred me. If I did not accept the transfer, I was out of work without any redundancy payment. The new contract has kept the length of service but not the pension, which became frozen (or deferred) till the age of 65. However prior to this, I could have got my pension at the age of 60 with the company's consent without actuarial reductions.
They did not red circle me at the time of the transfer but promised that when I reached 60, I was able to apply for my deferred pension. Now instead they are saying that the trustees have changed the rules (we have received no written ifnormation of these new rules), and do not consent people to retire after the age of 60 and certainly not with a full pension. This company ( a very wealthy energy-commodities company - 7th in the world) said that it would be a large financial burden for them if they allowed me to take my pension without penalties (my pension is not even a third compared to the one fat cats in the company get).
Previosuly for others, especiall top managers this rule did not apply. The new pension scheme, based on stocks and shares is very risky and I have to pay a large sum of money in every month (almost a mortgage payment) in order to recover the losses incurred from the old pension scheme. With the recent shares crash, that means we have already lost all the money we paid in.
There are also talks that they wish to wind up the scheme alltogether. I am worried that I loose it all, because once the money in the pot has gone, it has gone for ever and it will be very stressful to recover it. By that time I will be dead. How can the government let this happening and offer no protection to people who have worked all their life? Especially women? Is there any politician out there who can take notice of this and make the government aware of the situation and do something about it? not to allow the sharks to take advantage of people who worked all their life? I paid money in the scheme. How many other people have been conned under these transfers?
Also, the ex company (the one who sold us like goats ) is saying that if they consider my pension, they will also sum up the new one and the future state one, to see if I need that money. How can this be? Can they do this? The state pension is separate from occupational pensions, the new one is with a different provider.