SERPS is the State Earnings Related Pension Scheme. This ran from 1978 to April 2002.
SERPS is a second pension paid by the state on top of the basic State Pension. You will build up a SERPS pension if you paid any National Insurance contributions during this time – as long as:
- you were not a member of a contracted-out pension scheme
- you had not opted out of SERPS and instead had contributions from the state paid into a personal scheme of your choice.
Unlike the basic state pension, any SERPS pension will depend on your earnings.
Although SERPS has now been replaced by S2P you will still receive a SERPS pension if you have the right contributions record. People will be retiring for the next 40 years or so who will receive a SERPS pension.
One advantage of a SERPS pension is that you can pass some of it on to a surviving spouse.
Here on the Pension Service website is a good source of further information.
