BT Pensions…

[Myles1970]

Ex BT engineer here. Anyone else concerned about recent headlines as regards the effects of the mini budget on the pension pot? I can only work another 7 years in my current job so will be relying on BT from then until the local pension kicks in at 67 (and even then it’ll be reduced as I’ll only have done 22 years with this firm)

 

[OJCar]

I'm ex BT technical too, and can get my pension from them in under a year.
TBH I haven't a clue about what I will really be getting from them, or how I got about getting it or if I should be leaving it where it is for a bit !
So will be watching the answers here with interest.
I think there are quite a few ex BT on this forum so hopefully someone will know.

 

[Myles1970]

@OJCar i registered on the portal last year (can’t get on there now, forget my password ), and I was pleasantly surprised by the value - I left in 2003.

I did 13 years in BT, and it’s not far off what I should get for 22 as a civil servant (Ireland)

I did contact a financial advisor back then about moving it, but I’m a bit sceptical about moving it tbh

 

[OJCar]

I'm registered on the portal too.
But this is all it can tell me

I also left in 2003 ! ( good year for escaping! )
I was outsourced in to BT in 1999 and the Final Salary Pension I had with the previous employer was moved into BT Pension as well.

 

[OJCar]

can’t get on there now, forget my password

There are the self service buttons on the log on page to help recover your password.

 

[Myles1970]

Yep, tried that….. now going down the’contact us’ route

 

[brewdexta]

I'm ex-BT and started taking my pension in April. I have 12 pensionable years at 60th of final salary, so approx. 1/5th wages. I think it went down to 80th not long after I joined.

The headlines said the loss was "prior" to the Bank of England intervention so some will have been recouped. However this was on top of £10Bn lost in the previous year from its hedging strategy.

Personally I'm not too worried, it is what happens in the long term that matters and hopefully these morally bankrupt bunch of self interested fugwitted talentless thieves will be gone soon, I hope........

I would never move a final salary pension in favour of a standard pension. I've had a couple of previous financial advisors that recommended I did, I quickly dumped them as it was obvious that their main priority was any commission, not my pension.

 

[OJCar]

Works as well as most BT systems then !

 

[Myles1970]

Works as well as most BT systems then !

 

[Cobbler]

Works as well as most BT systems then !

Mine works fine, I’ve been claiming it now for 13 years. I did 33 years with BT.

 

[m_c]

I would never move a final salary pension in favour of a standard pension. I've had a couple of previous financial advisors that recommended I did, I quickly dumped them as it was obvious that their main priority was any commission, not my pension.

It's not as quite clear cut as never moving from a final salary.
I've got quite a few years in the BT Pension Scheme, but if I live long enough, I'll be in the last group of people to get a BTPS pension.

I should probably go and speak to an advisor, but if BT was to go tits up and there was still a big deficit in the BTPS, how much would the government pay me compared to what I should receive?
Then there's the other possibility, will a private scheme perform better over the next 20 years, than the BTPS tied to the RPI?

Certainly for those nearing retirement, transferring out a final salary is likely to be very stupid, but for those of use with a while to go with now closed final salaries, it's not quite so clear cut :/

 

[Bullet2012]

Nope, no concerns at all.

 

[Myles1970]

Nope, no concerns at all.

No, you’re probably right. I always had a lot of faith that BT pensions were solid. I remember the early retirements and lump sums that guys were getting when I was working there and often wish I’d stayed on. When I joined, there were 220,000 staff on the books and by the time I left there was just over half that - all through natural wastage and voluntary redundancies (as I recall)
I also recall the older guys singing the praises of the BT pension scheme, saying that you couldn’t get better in the private market. So when the financial advisor implied that I might be better off cashing it in, I politely declined

 

[Stueeee]

I should probably go and speak to an advisor, but if BT was to go tits up and there was still a big deficit in the BTPS, how much would the government pay me compared to what I should receive?

There was/is a 'crown guarantee' put in place for the pension when BT was privatised. This meant that the UK government would be liable for the pension if BT went bust. Some years ago the government wanted to wriggle out of this undertaking and went to court over it; they lost the case.

 

[Cobbler]

There was/is a 'crown guarantee' put in place for the pension when BT was privatised. This meant that the UK government would be liable for the pension if BT went bust. Some years ago the government wanted to wriggle out of this undertaking and went to court over it; they lost the case.

This was my understanding at the time of the privatisation.

 

[OJCar]

The Government underwritten BT Pension had closed for joining by the time I was out-scourced to BT in 1999.
The subsequent BT Pension schemes do not enjoy the same level of Government underwriting.

The Trustees of the BT Pensions have put out the following:

"The investment market for UK government bonds, also known as gilts, has experienced considerable volatility in the last few weeks. In light of this, we want to let you know that your pension is not impacted.
As BTPS is a defined benefit (DB) pension scheme, we pay you an income for life based on a formula that uses your pensionable salary and service information. As such, the pensions we pay to our members are not affected by the ups and down of the stock market or the recent volatility in the gilts market.
In our Report and Accounts published 18 October 2022, we confirmed that there has been no worsening in our estimated funding position as a result of the recent volatility, and we want to reassure members that we will continue to pay pensions as they fall due."

https://www.btps.co.uk/NewsDetail?a=63

I don't see BT Pensioners starving and sleeping in the streets just yet !