Older Pension Contracts

Picture of two folders saying retirement plan and pension together with a pen and calculator

You may have one or more older pension contracts. Some of these may have valuable benefits. Pensions legislation, both for State pensions and private pensions seems to undergo almost constant change. This is not always helpful given that pension funding has, of necessity, to take place over a working lifetime of 40 to 50 years.

If you have an old pension policy then it is in your interests to know how best to deal with it and that is the purpose of this section.

Please follow the links below to a number of older pension contracts and contract features.

Key dates for private pensions

Some of the key dates for private pensions are as follows:

1921	The Finance Act introduced tax relief on pension contributions.
1980s	It was during this period when inflation, interest rates and investment returns were all in double figures that many pensions providers introduced Guaranteed Annuity Rates, Guaranteed Investment Rates and Hybrid occupational pension schemes with a defined benefit underpin.
1981	The Finance Act introduced Section 32 Buy Out Plans.
1988	The Financial Services Act of 1986 came into force and personal pension plans were launched in this year, replacing Retirement Annuity Contracts.
1990s	It was during this period that With Profits Funds became a mainstream retail investment for pension funds.
1995	The Pensions Act implemented regulatory and compensation schemes in response to major fraud cases.
2001	Stakeholder pensions were introduced.
2004	The Pensions Act introduced the Pensions Regulator and the Pension Protection Fund to offer benefits for pension scheme members whose scheme had been wound-up due their employer’s insolvency.
2006	Known as A-Day, pension simplification brought in changes including the ability for people to save money into personal and company pension schemes concurrently. Those with large pension funds were able to protect them against the new more restrictive limits. The Annual Allowance and Lifetime Allowance were also introduced. Pension Term Insurance has it’s short lived spot on the pensions stage.
2012	Auto-enrolment was introduced. Every employer in the UK must put their qualifying employees into a pension scheme and, where appropriate, pay contributions.
2014	Pension freedoms were introduced. Inheritance Tax position of pension fund death benefits was clarified.