Do’s and Don’ts of Transferring your Occupational Pension

Despite all the fear that people have over having frozen British pensions, there are still quite a few who are willing to brave the risks and move to the country of their choice. One of the especially popular options is moving to the US, transferring not only their state pensions, but their occupational pensions as well.

If you are one of those people, the do’s and don’ts will help you prepare for the transfer and figure out what other things you might have missed out on:

  • Don’t transfer your occupational pension scheme while you are still with your employer. Wait until you are not connected with your employer anymore, as no other pension scheme would be able to match what your employer is currently paying.
  • Do check the transfer value analysis. This would allow you to fully understand the pros and cons of a transfer at this point.
  • Don’t transfer your pension scheme if you used to work for the public sector. Because these pensions are guarded against inflation rates, there is always a big chance that this will give you a better yield over a period of time.
  • Do think about when you plan on retiring. What are your retirement options? Think about how the new pension scheme would be able to take care of you in the future.
  • Don’t transfer if you only have a few years left until retirement. You could be losing out on a larger benefit if you choose to let go of it now.
  • Do talk to a licensed financial adviser about your options. This would ensure your safety, especially if you consider the huge risks that a transfer may present.

Going through each of these things on the list would allow you to make the best decision when it comes to frozen British pensions, and will secure your future even more even if you have already moved to the US.