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Pension salary exchnage opt-out

Royal Mail pension news and discussion.Please note the advise given in this forum is unofficial, please use the links we have for a more detailed response or see an independent financial adviser.
paulthepostie
EX ROYAL MAIL
Posts: 123
Joined: 06 Nov 2009, 18:43
Gender: Male

Pension salary exchnage opt-out

Post by paulthepostie »

How and when would i be able to opt-out of this as I'm not interested thanks.
RobertT
EX ROYAL MAIL
Posts: 6645
Joined: 09 Sep 2007, 14:26
Gender: Male

Re: Pension salary exchnage opt-out

Post by RobertT »

If you want to pay more NIC's for no extra benefit to yourself then the info on opting out is in the brochure you received recently.
Links to all RM pension related websites are here
britwrit
MAIL CENTRES/PROCESSING
Posts: 964
Joined: 22 Apr 2007, 15:12

Re: Pension salary exchnage opt-out

Post by britwrit »

It's really easy. Call Sheffield and ask for an opt-out form. They sent mine right out. It takes about a minute to fill out and then you mail it back in.
collierrow
Posts: 17
Joined: 13 Apr 2014, 10:18
Gender: Female

Re: Pension salary exchnage opt-out

Post by collierrow »

please explain to me the advantage of opting out
paulthepostie
EX ROYAL MAIL
Posts: 123
Joined: 06 Nov 2009, 18:43
Gender: Male

Re: Pension salary exchnage opt-out

Post by paulthepostie »

Ok thanks. Paying more national insurance? would i be paying less if i stayed in then?. I didn't receive the brochure you mentioned.
blisterfeet
Posts: 103
Joined: 13 Jun 2012, 18:48
Gender: Male

Re: Pension salary exchnage opt-out

Post by blisterfeet »

I had a quick look online and found these:
http://www.scottishwidows.co.uk/corpora ... hange.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

if you decide to take advantage of the salary exchange agreement, this involves an amend to your terms and conditions of employment. I don't like the sound of that. It might be nothing but does this mean that royal mail can say your terms and conditions have changed to we're going to reduce your hours and not pay you off. I just don't trust this company to do anything and not have an ulterior motive.


http://www.pensionsadvisoryservice.org. ... -sacrifice" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
OnAFlyer
Posts: 1938
Joined: 16 Aug 2009, 14:24
Gender: Male

Re: Pension salary exchnage opt-out

Post by OnAFlyer »

paulthepostie wrote:Ok thanks. Paying more national insurance? would i be paying less if i stayed in then?. I didn't receive the brochure you mentioned.
By staying in you will receive around £3 per week extra in your take home pay. The only difference is your pension comes out of your wages before stoppages, hence you save the national insurance you normally pay on it.

There is absolutely no benefit whatsoever to opting out, all you are doing is throwing away £150 per year.
Surreypostie
Posts: 997
Joined: 04 Aug 2013, 21:05
Gender: Male

Re: Pension salary exchnage opt-out

Post by Surreypostie »

OnAFlyer wrote:
paulthepostie wrote:Ok thanks. Paying more national insurance? would i be paying less if i stayed in then?. I didn't receive the brochure you mentioned.
By staying in you will receive around £3 per week extra in your take home pay. The only difference is your pension comes out of your wages before stoppages, hence you save the national insurance you normally pay on it.

There is absolutely no benefit whatsoever to opting out, all you are doing is throwing away £150 per year.
That's not entirely accurate. Your pension does not come out before stoppages. The Employer pays your pension contributions. If you leave within 2 years there is no refund to be claimed unlike the present scheme as you have not paid a penny into it. That is one disadvantage that any new employees should consider.
paulthepostie
EX ROYAL MAIL
Posts: 123
Joined: 06 Nov 2009, 18:43
Gender: Male

Re: Pension salary exchnage opt-out

Post by paulthepostie »

blisterfeet wrote:I had a quick look online and found these:
http://www.scottishwidows.co.uk/corpora ... hange.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

if you decide to take advantage of the salary exchange agreement, this involves an amend to your terms and conditions of employment. I don't like the sound of that. It might be nothing but does this mean that royal mail can say your terms and conditions have changed to we're going to reduce your hours and not pay you off. I just don't trust this company to do anything and not have an ulterior motive.


http://www.pensionsadvisoryservice.org. ... -sacrifice" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Does anyone know anymore about this?. People should be aware if true and i agree, with the way this company has behaved in recent years i do not trust them either.
RobertT
EX ROYAL MAIL
Posts: 6645
Joined: 09 Sep 2007, 14:26
Gender: Male

Re: Pension salary exchnage opt-out

Post by RobertT »

paulthepostie wrote:Ok thanks. Paying more national insurance?
From April 2016, NIC’s for members of the RMPP are increasing from 10.6% to 12%, based on my wages I think that would see an increase of £3.84 per week. RM’s NIC’s will also increase.
would i be paying less if i stayed in then?.
PSE is due to start in August and initially you would be paying less NIC’s than now, again based on my basic pension contributions and assuming I’m working things out correctly, it would be a saving of about £2.25 per week. So when next April’s increase happens you will be £1.59 worse off under PSE or £3.84 worse off if you opt out. On the plus side you will actually be building up more state pension as a result of paying the increased NIC’s, whether you take part in PSE or not.

So really you need to ask yourself whether you want to give the taxman £2.25(from April 2016) every week for no benefit to yourself whatsoever.

People who pay AVC’s will see a bigger initial gain and could still be ‘in profit’ after April 2016 although that would depend on how much extra they pay.

I didn't receive the brochure you mentioned.
An online version is here: http://www.myroyalmail.com/sites/defaul ... %20WEB.pdf" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Links to all RM pension related websites are here
RobertT
EX ROYAL MAIL
Posts: 6645
Joined: 09 Sep 2007, 14:26
Gender: Male

Re: Pension salary exchnage opt-out

Post by RobertT »

Surreypostie wrote:That's not entirely accurate. Your pension does not come out before stoppages. The Employer pays your pension contributions. If you leave within 2 years there is no refund to be claimed unlike the present scheme as you have not paid a penny into it. That is one disadvantage that any new employees should consider.
Considering a pension is all about providing an income for when you’re older and any refund at present would only be of a persons own contributions minus tax anyway, I would say it’s actually an advantage that a refund can’t be taken!
Links to all RM pension related websites are here
datasaint
Posts: 1541
Joined: 22 Sep 2008, 17:19
Gender: Male

Re: Pension salary exchnage opt-out

Post by datasaint »

RobertT wrote:
Surreypostie wrote:That's not entirely accurate. Your pension does not come out before stoppages. The Employer pays your pension contributions. If you leave within 2 years there is no refund to be claimed unlike the present scheme as you have not paid a penny into it. That is one disadvantage that any new employees should consider.
Considering a pension is all about providing an income for when you’re older and any refund at present would only be of a persons own contributions minus tax anyway, I would say it’s actually an advantage that a refund can’t be taken!
No under RMDCP any contributions RM make in the first two years only count if you stay with the company more than 2 years.
RobertT
EX ROYAL MAIL
Posts: 6645
Joined: 09 Sep 2007, 14:26
Gender: Male

Re: Pension salary exchnage opt-out

Post by RobertT »

norm wrote:
RobertT wrote:
Surreypostie wrote:That's not entirely accurate. Your pension does not come out before stoppages. The Employer pays your pension contributions. If you leave within 2 years there is no refund to be claimed unlike the present scheme as you have not paid a penny into it. That is one disadvantage that any new employees should consider.
Considering a pension is all about providing an income for when you’re older and any refund at present would only be of a persons own contributions minus tax anyway, I would say it’s actually an advantage that a refund can’t be taken!
No under RMDCP any contributions RM make in the first two years only count if you stay with the company more than 2 years.
If you are a member of the RMDCP and leave RM before 2 years service you have 3 options:

1) Take the value of just your own contributions minus tax.
2) Leave your total pot including RM contributions invested.
3) Transfer to another pension (minimum of 3 months RMDCP membership required).
Links to all RM pension related websites are here
paulthepostie
EX ROYAL MAIL
Posts: 123
Joined: 06 Nov 2009, 18:43
Gender: Male

Re: Pension salary exchnage opt-out

Post by paulthepostie »

Hmm on page 18 it does refer to a change in your terms and conditions which i am a bit wary about. Other than that it seems a good idea. What do you all think about what is said on that page?.
cloherty1976
MAIL CENTRES/PROCESSING
Posts: 1236
Joined: 11 Mar 2010, 12:16
Gender: Male
Location: The south

Re: Pension salary exchnage opt-out

Post by cloherty1976 »

paulthepostie wrote:Hmm on page 18 it does refer to a change in your terms and conditions which i am a bit wary about. Other than that it seems a good idea. What do you all think about what is said on that page?.
A bit wary too and have opted out myself. Will have to wait until you retire to really no the answer. This is due to start in August but surely this PSE will be abolished in JULY'S budget...