pensions and s.e.r.p.s

[tigga]

Hi, can anyone advise me of the situation here:

I started a pension when i was 16 at vauxhall motors, i only worked there for a few years, anyway as i remember, i was advised to opt out of a state pension and i was told (i think) that my N.I contributions would thus count toward my personal pension. being only a young lad i wasnt completely aware of what was boing on, so what im worried about is - was i supposed to inform anyone that i had ceased paying into the pension and will my N.I contributions have reverted back to the normal proceedure at that time ?

[dzug]

Your contributions will have reverted to normal when you changed jobs, unless you carried on paying pension contributions in your new job.

Your NI contributions at Vauxhall won't have contributed (directly) to your personal pension. What will have happened is that you paid reduced NI beacuse you were paying pension contributions and 'did not want' to duplicate things.

You can check your NI record by asking for a pension forecast from the DWP

[tigga]

Thanks for your answer dzug, im quite relieved now !, i payed into a different company pension for a few years after and then stopped, so i guess my N.I will have then reverted back to normal ?.

Basically i dont have a clue about this stuff, i just payed them !, now im trying to get on top of things, thanks again.