Recruiters risk losing pension benefits

Thousands of recruiters could miss out on valuable pension benefits unless they move fast, according to Giles Financial Services. The company, which is from the same stable as Giles Recruitment Risks division, an REC business partner, says that recruiters who delay taking action to safeguard their pension rights now run the risk of reducing their pension in years to come.

The warning comes in the light of changes in pension regulations due to take place next April. The date promises to be so important to UK pensions that it has been given its own title - ëA Dayí. David Skinner, Chief Executive of Giles Financial Services commented, ëPeople tend to wait until the very last minute before taking advice, but itís important to realise that gathering and processing the information that pension providers need can take some months ñ so waiting until later in 2005, let alone into 2006 is very risky.í

According to Giles Financial Services, the post ëA Dayí changes will benefit some individuals but disadvantage others. ëAlthough itís important for everyone to understand in outline what the changes mean, expert advice is likely to be needed to assess an individualís situation and the impact of the changes,í David Skinner said.

ëA Dayí changes allowing pension funds to invest in residential property have already been widely heralded, but David Skinner says that pension investors also need to be aware of changes on acquiring commercial property in a pension fund. He commented, ëItís long been possible for pension funds to invest in commercial property but from April 2006, no scheme can borrow more than 50% of the fund value. Currently as much as 75% of the actual commercial property value can be borrowed under current rules for personal pension plans. This means that for anyone who is interested in acquiring a commercial property of reasonable value via their pension, the amount that can be borrowed against it will be significantly lower after 6th April 2006. However tempting it may be to put off dealing with pension issues, delay now could cost you thousands later.í