Left job: Pension payout?

[outherealone]

Hi I have just left a civil service job where I was for a year.
I’ve moved into local government.
Civil service pension have written to me offering to transfer the balance to another pension or withdrawal of the funds (approx £650)
Is it worth transferring over this amount?
I have minimal financial knowledge, not sure if better adding to savings/ holiday fund?
Thank you

If you take a refund, you will only get back the value of the contributions you’ve paid (less tax). If you take a transfer, it will include the value of the contributions the employer made on your behalf. If you can afford it, transferring would be the better option.

Oh my days! TAKE FINANCIAL ADVICE. From a proper IFA. My DH is a financial advisor and he tells me about cases like this all the time. If you transfer out you could be giving up massive benefits. The company basically want you to transfer out because you cost them money. Please, please get proper financial advice before you do anything.

That'll teach me not to read your full post, didn't see it was only £650. Slight over reaction from me!

Is that not a year's worth of pension? I'd transfer it.

Transfer it into the LGPS

Brilliant thank you so much everyone, I think I will transfer it then, seems to be consensus, only 650 is a huge sum to me as a single mum, wasn’t sure whether to treat as unexpected windfall or just reinvest into pension!

Check if you can leave it in the CS pension because that has better terms than the LGPS. I think you might have to have two years service though.

You won't be allowed to keep it where it is as you have less than two years service, so your best option is to transfer to the lgps. Then, even if you leave your local govt job in under two years you will be able to keep your pension in the lgps.

Thank you @krieger and @alun I will take some time to try and work out how to access my lgps, not received anything from them yet

That's funny, I just left an NHS job after 11.5m & no one has got in touch to ask about the pension contribs I made (!!). Is it all my duty to chase up (zzz) or will someone notice it's NHS, my experience is that no one will notice .

I think I paid in £2300 to NHS pension. Problem is, I'm expecting that would buy about £2.30 in the current employer's fund. Not inconceivable I could go back to a different NHS job in next 10 yrs.

Lljk - you can check your Nhs pension details online yourself, I’ve just done it having left the nhs 10 years ago!
www.nhsbsa.nhs.uk/employee-section

Looks very complicated to use -- I have to go to Post Office to prove my identity?

I have my last payslip, I assume I'll get another P45 eventually.
Don't think I have my ESR login details any more.

ok, take the flapping back, I got into the system, so thanks for link. It's only commenting on the 2018-19 pension pot. I still think that my current fund would say I that my £2300 is worth more more than 2 months additional payments, if that much. They make extra contribs very expensive. Such a faff.