Transfer of Railway pension to another TOC

[Glover2013]

I'm due to leave my current TOC and start work with another TOC this year. (Both jobs as a train driver). I was wondering if I need to do anything to transfer my Railways pension (RPS scheme) from one TOC to another or if this is all done automatically by my new employer?

Do other train drivers recommend transferring their pension over to another TOC or would it be better to have two separate pension pots?

As you can probably tell, I'm lacking in knowledge on this subject and any help would be gratefully appreciated!

 

[deltic]

Only take pension advice from someone who really knows what they are talking about - what was right for someone else may not be right for you. Basic information and contact points for further info are available on the dedicated RPS website www.railwayspensions.co.uk

 

[pdeaves]

Wot deltic says. You can transfer from one 'pot' to another if you want, but I believe you have to request it within a certain time scale (three months when I did a similar but not identical thing).

 

[nuts & bolts]

Hi
You have two choices, either “preserve” your previous TOC railway pesion. Or combine it with your new TOC railway pension.
You should inform RPS at your earliest convenience that you have moved TOC’s, they will send out a form in the near future with forecasts of what I have ready mentioned. You then choose what is right for you.

As you are staying in the RPS it’s pretty much straight forward, but then again you might have brass in your old TOC RPS. The people at RPS are quite helpful, contact them via email or phone 1st thing on a morning as they are busy other times of the day!

Hope this helps?

 

[Glover2013]

Thank you very much for this comprehensive reply. Very helpful!

 

[Crazyb]

I moved from a FOC to a TOC. I had a massive increase in salary so this was going to affect my pension if I transferred my FOC pension over.

I got a transfer value which you can work out what you lose, they will give you figures if you leave in or transfer it....If I transferred my FOC pension to my TOC pension, I lost years but financially I lost around £1600 (One off) on my lump sum and a small amount on my yearly pension (I can't remember the amount)

If you leave it frozen, you will only get CPI. If you transfer it, you will get RPI which is a rise every year.

 

[Glover2013]

Thanks for replying. Very helpful! Didn’t know about the CPI RPI factor.

 

[whhistle]

Another thing to think about is the hassle factor.
Having to think about / manage two pensions might not be worth an overall loss of £1600 (taking the figures from above).

The newer pension may be "poorer" but you'll add years to it so in the end, the difference might not be that big.

 

[Crazyb]

If your on Facebook join try these guys. There is loads of help on there "UK Railway Pensions & State Pension Changes"