Opting out of SERPS way back in 1988 what does it all mean?

[Morningside]

OK. I am thick when it comes to these sort of things and any reply may/will appear dumb.

Many, many years ago (1989 in fact) I was 'pestered' into opting out of SERPS by Sun Life of Canada.

Now, according to the yearly statement after they tracked me down! I have:

                           Units Held          Unit Price       Value of Units
Universal Managed Fund      1,931,256             £4.9520            £9,563.58

Giving £520 a year from dd mmm 2029.

So what happens?
Does this mean I will lose my state pension?
Do I still get the same and this will top it up?
Can I claim it all back?
Can I cash in early?

Sorry for dumb questions.

[Morningside]

This sounds a nightmare. So if my normal state pension wont get effected I suppose I will have to declare this as extra income and lose it?
I have not paid anything into this for years so does that mean they have been 'suckling' it away without my knowing (if you see what I mean).

And what the hell was the point of it in the first place? The 9k mentioned will be subject to admin fees and I will end up with sod all and where did this units come from?

Does anyone know where they policies have actually matured? If so, what did they actually get back?

I suspect all this cash and pension stuff was done in the heyday of financial boom.


And no, I have never heard from the chap again. Hello John. Then again, to be fair I moved 100 miles away.

[Morningside]

Going by the feedback here im not feeling to great about this

[Morningside]

I did breifly go self employed so maybe that does explain things.

Take it out at age 55 you say . Shame no lump sum. Did I also hear some companies were buying them off you for a small fee?

[Morningside]

The Ferret said:

Morningside said:

Now, according to the yearly statement after they tracked me down!

Did you move house without telling them?

Yup. I moved back to Suffolk in 1991 and to be honest with a break up with the ex this was the LAST thing crossing my mind.

Although it still reads as if I did something RIGHT for a change by contracting out.

And if I will still get a small state pension maybe it would be OK for me to try and get this out at age 55/60.