What rights to information do I have?

Members of pension schemes have pretty comprehensive rights to information about their scheme. We give an overview here. More technical details are available on the TPAS website here for money purchase scheme members and here for salary related scheme members.

Basic information

The broad details of the scheme should be provided if you are eligible to join and should be available on request. Spouses and other potential beneficiaries can also ask for details of the scheme. There is a long list of information that should be provided and this is available on the TPAS site (see links above).

Annual statements

Members of personal, stakeholder and money purchase occupational schemes (including AVCs) should receive annual statements automatically. Members of salary related (DB)  schemes can request a statement and it should be provided within two months. Most DB schemes will automatically provide an annual benefit statement without you having to ask, whilst you are still building up benefits in the scheme.

Contributions

If your employer fails for any reason to pay over contributions then they or the trustees must tell you. You have the right to ask to see the 'schedule of contributions'.

Early leavers

If you leave a pension scheme before you retire, for example when you change your job, you should be given a statement about your options within two months of leaving.

Payment of benefits

You should automatically be provided with details of your pension before your retirement date.

Changes to the scheme rules

You should automatically be told of any changes to the rules of the scheme.

Paperwork

You can ask to see a great deal of the documentation produced by your scheme, though you can be charged a fair cost to make anything, other then the most recent annual report, available. You can ask for the:

• annual report – the law requires a great deal of information to be disclosed in this
• trust deed and rules – the basic rules of the scheme
• statement of investment principles – this covers the scheme's approach to its investments, including any ethical principles it chooses to apply to selecting the companies in which it invests
• actuarial valuation – the scheme's actuary assessment of how well the scheme can meet its current and future pensions liabilities
• schedule of contributions - this shows the contributions made by employer and employees

There's more about scheme documents on the TPAS website (see links above).

When a scheme is wound up

You should be given a statement within a month and then annually. See What happens if a pension scheme is completely wound up? and this part of the TPAS website.

Transfers

If you are thinking of transferring your money from your old employer's scheme to your new one, then normally you should receive a transfer value within six months of asking. See What rights do I have to transfer my pension?.