The seven questions to ask your pension scheme

When you write to a scheme, you are asking it to confirm your record and disclose the information you need to make decisions. Ask too little and you will write again; ask the right things once and you have a complete picture. Pension Trail builds these into every letter.

1. Membership and policy number

The reference by which the scheme holds you. Without it, every future enquiry is slower. Ask for any other identifiers they use as well.

2. Defined benefit, defined contribution, or both?

The two are fundamentally different. A defined benefit (DB) pension promises a set income; a defined contribution (DC) pot is an investment whose value moves. Some people have both in one scheme. The answer changes every question that follows.

3. Current value, and DB annual pension

For DC, ask for the current fund value. For DB, ask for the annual pension you have accrued to date — this is the benefit the scheme actually promises, not a notional transfer value.

4. Normal retirement age and protected pension age

The signature question. The normal minimum pension age rises from 55 to 57 on 6 April 2028, but some members hold a protected right to take benefits earlier. Ask for your normal retirement age, whether a protected pension age applies, the date it applies from, and the benefits it covers. Read more on protected pension ages.

5. Guaranteed annuity rate or GMP

A guaranteed annuity rate (GAR) is a contractual right to convert the fund to income at a set rate, written into some policies sold in the 1980s and 1990s. Many defined benefit members also have a guaranteed minimum pension (GMP) from contracting out of the State Earnings-Related scheme. Both are terms of the policy, and both should be stated explicitly.

6. Transfer value and death benefits

Ask for the current cash equivalent transfer value (CETV), the date of the quotation, and how long it would be guaranteed. Also ask for a summary of death benefits: any lump sum, any survivor's pension, and to whom they would be paid. This matters for your family, not just you.

7. The address the scheme holds

Pensions go “lost” because people move and schemes cannot find them. Confirming the address on file closes that loop and stops the pot drifting back into silence.

Two more, while you are writing

If the scheme has wound up, ask where your liabilities went — the receiving scheme, insurer or administrator, and any reference they hold. And ask the scheme to confirm in writing if no record exists, so you have a clear position rather than silence.