Individuals' pension arrangements
Q: I am looking for advice on my own, individual, pension arrangements, including the state pension, my occupational pension, and 'contracting-out'. Can GAD advise me?
A: No, GAD is unable to advise individuals on their pension arrangements.
If you already have an occupational pension scheme, you should first contact your employer, or the pension scheme’s administrator. If you have a private pension, you should contact the company which manages it.
For information regarding state pensions, please visit The Pension Service’s website at www.thepensionservice.gov.uk.
For more general financial advice, you could discuss your affairs with an Independent Financial Advisor - find one in the Yellow Pages or other local directories, or by searching on the internet. Many high street banks and building societies offer financial advice, but you should check if they are able to provide independent advice on a full range of financial products, or if they are limited to advising on a restricted range of products and providers.
If you were a member of a pension arrangement in the past but cannot now contact the managers of the scheme, then you may be able to trace your pension through the Pension Tracing Service, which is part of The Pension Service ( www.thepensionservice.gov.uk).
Q: I am looking for information about my pension scheme. Can GAD help me?
A: The publications page of this website contains summaries of the main UK pubic sector pension schemes. These summarise the schemes' key features only, and are not a definitive description of the schemes' benefits.
For other information, you should first contact your employer, or the pension scheme's administrator. The links page of this website contains links to the websited of the main UK public sector pension schemes. If you have a private pension, you should contact the company which manages it.
If you were a member of a pension arrangement in the past, but cannot now contact the managers of the scheme, then you may be able to trace your pension through the Pension Tracing Service, which is part of The Pension Service (www.thepensionservice.gov.uk). 
Population projections and other demography enquiries
Q: Where do I find information about population projections and other demography enquiries?
A: Responsibility for these matters now rests with the Office for National Statistics (ONS). Their contact details are shown on the contacts page.
Past population projections (up to and including the 2004-based projections) are available on the GAD website. Please click on Demography Data on the left hand side of the page.
Income withdrawal/drawdown
Q: Where do I find the GAD tables showing the maximum income that can be taken from personal pensions or other money purchase pension arrangements before annuitisation – otherwise known as income drawdown, income withdrawal, unsecured pensions or alternatively secured pensions?
A: The tables which GAD prepares for HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) for the calculation of the maximum income that can be taken from such arrangements, together with instructions, can be found at
http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/pensionschemes/gad-tables.htm.
All enquiries regarding such arrangements should be addressed to HM Revenue & Customs in the first instance. Their contact details are shown on the contacts page.
Public sector staff transfers
Q: I am involved in the organisation of a compulsory transfer of employment from the public sector, or in a tendering exercise which could potentially lead to such a transfer of employment. What issues should I be aware of?
A: Government policy is to provide some protection for public sector employees’ pension arrangements on the compulsory transfer of employment to a private sector employer, or to another public sector body. In broad terms, there are two main aspects to this policy:
- Future service – Employees should be entitled to accrue pension benefits in respect of service after the transfer of employment which are considered to be broadly comparable to those which the employee would have accrued had they remained in their public sector scheme.
- Past service – Employees should normally have the opportunity to participate in a bulk transfer arrangement in respect of their existing (accrued) pension.
For further information, please go to the Staff Transfers section of the site.
Q: I have heard terms such as “broad comparability”, “Fair Deal” and “GAD passports” used in relation to a transfer of employment. What do these terms mean?
A: Please go to the Staff Transfers section of the site for more information.
UK social security benefits
Q: I am looking for information about social security benefits to which I might be entitled. Does GAD provide this information?
A: For information regarding state pensions, please visit The Pension Service's website at
www.thepensionservice.gov.uk.
For information regarding other state benefits, please visit the Department for Work and Pensions' website at
www.dwp.gov.uk
Q: I am a British citizen, but I have been living overseas for some years. I am nearing retirement age and am looking for information about how to claim my state pension.
A: Please visit The Pension Service's website at www.thepensionservice.gov.uk.
If you may also have been a member of a UK pension arrangement in the past (such as an occupational pension scheme or a personal pension) but cannot now contact the managers of the scheme, then you may be able to trace your pension throught the Pensions Tracing Service, which is part of The Pension Service
(www.thepensionservice.gov.uk)
Adobe acrobat reader
Q : What is Acrobat Reader?
A : Adobe Acrobat Reader is a piece of software which allows documents published in the portable document format (PDF) to be read on any computer in the exact layout created by the author. Acrobat Reader launches when you click a link to a PDF document, and will allow you to browse and print the document. If you do not have Acrobat Reader on your PC, you can download it for free from www.adobe.com.
