PRESERVED PENSIONS
Dear All.
April 05
A number of you have contacted me recently with regard to the qualifying criteria for a Preserved Pension, or in other words "am I eligible for a pension although I did not serve the full sentence - 22 years".
I have had a look at the current rules and although they are complicated by MoD jargon they are relatively straight forward as far as eligibility is concerned. In essence they say: "Except where he has committed a grave offence against the state or a serious offence against military discipline, a soldier, who is discharged or transferred to the Reserve before qualifying for an award of pension may, provided he has completed 2 years reckonable service, be granted a preserved pension".
The rules go on to say: "The pension shall be put into payment when the soldier reaches the age of 60". You should be aware that there are various clauses regarding physical and mental infirmity as well as widows and children but in essence what is stated above is the basic qualifying criteria. If anybody feels they fall into any other category please contact me and I will be happy to advise or seek further guidance on individual cases.
Unfortunately the pension will not be paid automatically and the individual must apply, with as much detail as possible, to:
Pensions Division. MP 480, Kentigern House, 65 Brown Street, Glasgow.G2 8EX
I would suggest as a minimum they will need your Regimental Number along with full names, current address and some indication of length of service. Individuals should apply on or shortly after their 59th Birthday, don't worry if you have passed it (and I do not mean that literally) you can always apply in retrospect. I would imagine that Pensions Division will send you some forms to fill in as well as check back through your old records to verify qualifying service etc before making an award. How much will you get? I am told that each case is individual so there are no guidelines - sounds like a NAAFI excuse to me.
Either way I would urge you to claim and although you may not get a fortune it ay be enough to buy a beer at one of our REunions.
REgards Mac
P.S New e-mail address
macmcilveen@yahoo.co.uk
Info kindly supplied by John Irvine
Hi Mac,
My name is John Irvine, and I am currently settled in Germany, (see details below). I was having a look at an e-mail which Roy Bloor sent me some time ago, and having just had a look at the Website, it came to my notice that the subject of Preserved Pensions was addressed. I, amongst other things, work with an ex RAF member in Germany, who specifically does business in the field of the above mentioned subject. Basically, if an individual left the services after the 1 Jan 86, and served at least 3 years, and is not currently drawing a pension; that person qualifies! It is possible however, to gain access to the pension a lot sooner, and with much more benefits, by transferring the pension into a Civilian Recognized Fund; I done this back in 1995. To give you an example of the benefits, my pension fund value transferred was around 13,000 UK pounds, today the fund is worth around 38,000! I have access to it from 50 years onwards, and can take a 25% tax free lump sum from the Unprotected part of the pension; it beats the hell out of leaving it where it originally was.
Maybe you could pass on this information to others who fall into the qualification. And should anyone require information without obligation, they could drop me an e-mail.
E-Mail: jirvine@t-online.de
web design by 'Yer Uncle Knucker' ©