There are state benefit schemes offering limited financial support for your old age, and a number of other private schemes enabling you to build a larger fund for the future. To avoid a paltry income in retirement it is in everybody’s best interest to save more for it.

Our pension tracing service is here to help you locate or trace any pensions that you may have lost or misplaced. We operate a simple 5 step process that we feel takes the frustration out of doing this yourself. Not only do we locate your pension and give you the information, one of our highly trained financial adviser’s will also conduct a free initial review and explain your pension/s in detail in a way that you will understand.

There are a number of types of pension schemes including group or occupational pensions, personal pensions, the state pension and SERPS.

Below is a summary of the different type of pensions but if you would like more information, our Pension Tracing Service includes our FREE Pension Review Line for you to call.

Although an entitlement for most people, the amount received from the basic state pension will depend on the amount of national insurance contributions paid.

On 6 April 2002, the State Second Pension (S2P), introduced by the Child Support, Pensions, and Social Security Act 2000 replaced the State Earnings Related Pension Scheme (SERPS).

From April 6th 2006 Government proposals for pension, simplification came into effect. This has led to many new opportunities for people to invest their savings for the long term with greater flexibility when it comes to retirement and ways of generating an income.

Personal pensions, introduced on 1 July 1988, originally aimed to give people who were not part of a company pension scheme their own portable pension, designed on a money purchase basis although since April 2001 certain individuals who are members of company pension schemes can also take out personal pensions.

Employers can set up occupational pension schemes for their employees.

Private sector schemes can be either final salary schemes known as defined benefit schemes or money purchase schemes known as defined contribution schemes.

The State Second Pension (S2P) replaced SERPS with effect from 6 April 2002.

A defined benefit pension plan provides employees with a guaranteed monthly benefit upon retirement, calculated based on factors like salary history, length of service, and age. 

The employer is responsible for funding the plan and managing the investment risk, ensuring that there are sufficient funds to pay the promised benefits. This offers employees a predictable and secure income in retirement, aiding in financial planning. 

Unlike defined contribution plans, the benefit amount in defined benefit plans is not directly tied to investment performance, providing more stability for retirees.