Hi. I was declared bankrupt in 1997 & went through all the required procedure with the official receiver, producing a 'statement of affairs' & handing over my personal pension policy as required under bankruptcy law as it applied then. However, I believe the law changed in May 2000 & most bankruptcies petitioned after this date would not be subject to the bankrupt's pension being forfeited to the official receiver? Unfortunately in my case, I received a letter when I reached the age of 55 stating that the official receiver is the 'trustee' of my private pension & intends to realize the 'non-protected rights' lump-sum portion of my pension fund. (Luckily, I stopped paying into the pension when I became bankrupt so the amount the official receiver intends to claim is only about £9000). Five years later having now just turned 60yrs old I am still waiting for them to do this. I have been in full-time employment since 2001 (my bankruptcy having been discharged) & have been contributing to my employers company pension scheme since then. My concern is that the official receiver could also take my current company pension when I finally decide to retire, even though they have already informed me of the amount they intend to take from my old paid up pension? I have also been informed by the [old] pension provider that I could take the protected rights part of the pension now if I wished, even though I am still working full-time. Is this correct? I have heard nothing from the official receiver so is it up to me to contact them & inform them that I intend to do this? I know the obvious answer is to consult a financial adviser but I just thought that there might be someone on the forum who is in a similar situation & has had their pension taken by the official receiver? Any advice would be appreciated!

WAR PENSIONS AND ARMED FORCES COMPENSATION TRIBUNAL GUIDE 1. Appeals You can appeal to the War Pensions and Armed Forces Compensation Tribunal if your claim for a war pension or compensation was rejected. The tribunal is independent of the Veterans Agency and the Ministry of Defence. There are different tribunals for Scotland and Northern Ireland. Decisions the tribunal can make The tribunal can make decisions about: Ø your entitlement to a pension or compensation Ø the amount of pension you get Ø entitlement to extra allowances, eg for mobility needs Ø pension start dates Ø pension rates Ø withheld pensions The tribunal deals with appeals for the 2 pension schemes currently running: Ø the War Pensions Scheme - for injuries caused by service before 6 April 2005 Ø Armed Forces Compensation Scheme - for injuries caused by service from 6 April 2005 onwards How to appeal You must appeal within 12 months of getting your pension decision letter. 1. Write a letter to the Veterans UK and ask them to reconsider their decision. Explain why you think the decision is wrong and give any information not included in your original claim. 2. The Veteran UK will look at your case again and write to you with their decision. 3. Contact the Veterans UK helpline to ask for an appeal form if you’re still unhappy with the decision. Fill in the form and send it back to them. 4. The Veterans UK will tell the tribunal that you’ve made an appeal and the tribunal will look at your case. 5. You’ll attend a tribunal hearing and the tribunal will decide your case. Send the appeal form to the following address, or contact the Veterans UK if you need help. Veterans UK Norcross Thornton Cleveleys Lancashire FY5 3WP Veterans UK Helpline 0808 191 4218 Late appeals In some cases you’ll be allowed to appeal after 12 months but you must explain why your appeal is late. You can’t appeal against any decision after 24 months. 2. After you Appeal The tribunal will look at your case and ask for any further information if they need it. The Veterans UK will send a response to your appeal to the tribunal. You’ll get a copy of their response. You can reply to it with a ‘written submission’, but you don’t have to. You can also send any further evidence to support your case to the tribunal. Where you send your written submission and further evidence depends on where you live. Prepare for the hearing You can go to the hearing on your own or ask someone to help represent you. You can also call a witness to support your case. Organisations that can help represent you include: Ø Royal British Legion Ø Royal Air Forces Association Ø Combat Stress Ø British Limbless Ex-ServiceMen’s Association Ø National Gulf Veterans& Families Association When you go to the tribunal hearing, take your appeal papers and the documents you’re using as evidence with you. You should give copies of any evidence to the tribunal before the tribunal hearing. Tribunal panel The tribunal is made up of: Ø a judge Ø a medical member Ø a service member What happens at the hearing The judge, tribunal members, Service Personnel and Veterans Agency and your representative (if you have one) will ask you questions about your case. The tribunal will then question any witnesses you’ve brought to the hearing. Usually, the tribunal will tell you its decision on the day of the hearing. Expenses You might be able to claim expenses or compensation for: Ø travel (only in the UK) Ø living expenses for the time you’re away from home Ø loss of earnings 4. If you lose your appeal You can ask the tribunal for permission to appeal to a higher tribunal, called the Upper Tribunal, if you lose your appeal. You must ask for permission to appeal within 6 weeks of getting the decision. The Upper Tribunal will look at the case to see if the original decision was correct. Reasons for appealing You can only appeal if you think the decision was wrong for a legal reason, including if the tribunal didn’t: Ø follow the right procedures - eg it didn’t tell you in time about the hearing Ø give proper reasons for its decision, or back up the decision with facts Ø apply the law properly Before appealing, ask the original tribunal for the written statement of reasons for its decision. READ MORE HERE: /assets/static/govuk-opengraph-image-dade2dad5775023b0568381c4c074b86318194edb36d3d68df721eea7deeac4b.png War Pensions and Armed Forces Compensation Tribunal: How to appeal - GOV.UK WWW.GOV.UK War Pensions and Armed Forces Compensation Tribunal - appeal a war pension decision, deadline, how to appeal, hearing.

Every year I receive a letter from the Job center plus asking for any details with regard to my Occupational Pensions as some of my benefit entailment is means tested and every year as per the letter give them wriiten permission all the details to contact my pension provider which in this case is a Local Government Pension as at the time of the letter I have no knowledge of the annual increase but I do reply with written permission for them to contact my pension provider along with all the information they would need . Last year I received at least 5 letters asking for the same information and this year the same number of requests and I also follow the letter up with a phone to the office dealing with this matter, but I have been called for a interview with the compliance officer at my local Job center as I was unable to attend the appointment on that day given so I contact the compliance person and discovered that they still wanted details of my pension for this year, I explained that they had all the details and if they wanted to they also had the permission to contact my pension provider, to which I was told that it was my job to give them the details, and it was not their job to contact them so why put on all the their letters a space for my permission to contact the pension provider .Apart from P60 and the copy of my annual pay advice and my written permission for contact the pension department what else can I do ,as the increase in my pension this year is the grand sum of £2.00 per month and I wonder how much all this work has cost them or us let alone the stress it has caused me, I am being to think have no ideal what they are doing is there anybody whom I can complain to stop this what is becoming months every year of stress.

I note with amusement that the Daily Mail's normally well balanced and impartial readership have rounded on hapless Eddy for daring to threaten a cap on state pensions. Indignant Mail readers are voicing their disapproval and disgust that he is suggesting that senior citizens should be included in the 'we're all in it together' club. The general consensus seems to focus on the beleif that paying NI for all ones working life implies an entitlement to a pension, whilst having a jolly good go at all the benefit scroungers, none of which of course have paid a single penny in NI. So the JSA claimant that has just been made redundant after contributing NI for 30 odd years is a ponce on society, but the poor old pensioner with 30 odd years worth of contributions is a worthy cause if ever there was one.

Hope someone can advise on this. A friend had 3 tiny pensions which in total were worth around £10k so any income would be minimal. He discovered that they could be taken as lump sums under triviality rules and took one out about 18 months ago. Recently he decided to take out the rest and got some figures from the other 2 companies, and at this point realised that they should all have been taken out within 12 months. Is there anything he can do to take out the remaining pensions as lump sums (obviously taxable apart from 25%), or will it have to be invested in an annuity?

Hiya, Please can someone give me some advice. I was made redundant in 2007 and got a nice payout and some pension back. At the time i did'nt think the pension was much after paying into it for many many years. I never thought anymore about it until 2 weeks ago. I was talking to an old work mate who i have not seen since we lost our jobs. He was not very happy that he is now getting taxed on his pension from Birds Eye and asked if i was getting taxed aswel. I told him i did'nt get a pension and he was shocked and told me i must get something as i payed into it for years. So i found an old pay slip and rang Unilever, they told me my pension(which i did'nt know i had) was frozen until i reached 55. They are going to send me information of it through the post. The thing is i have just joined the new company pension so is there a way to cash in the Unilever pension???? Thanks very much.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-196048/War-widows-pensions-double.html

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-20543308

Hi I got an email from marketing@gateway2finance.co.uk explaining that the following: "Old" or "Frozen" Pension Plan? . Attractive alternative to borrowing Minimum of £2,000 paid to you You must have an "old" or "frozen" pension Minimum £16k cumulative pension value required Free & No obligation Absolutely no credit check They then ask you to fill in a comprehensive form with your personal details and the pensions you have frozen....... How can they get you immediate cash?

Read an article the other day regarding the massive shortfall in Public Service Workers Pensions,ie Kent Count Council has a £900K black hole and the current pensions being paid out are being subsidised out of Council Tax,that does not include the Police or Fire Service who are in a similar situation,the countries Public Service Workers pensions are also subsidised by Private Sector Taxation as they have been for decades,surely Council Tax should not be used for this purpose?????????

Hi guys Bit of a tricky one so not sure how many people will have knowledge on it but will try to be as clear as i can. Person A has a total of 2.7% deducted from his monthly salary towards his pension contributions on one pension scheme Person B has a total of 4.7% deducted from his monthly salary on a new pension scheme Person B has no choice but to pay 4.7% as Person A's scheme is no longer available. This then leaves Person B having an extra 2% deducted from his pay therefore in essence earns 2% less than his equal counterpart. Is the fact that there is no option for people on the new scheme to pay the same as those on the old scheme discriminating and against equal opportunities? Is it also not fair that an employee should not be expected to pay more than others of equal standing within a company? Thanks for any advice.