Retirement:
What happens if I stop my contributions?

If you are in an employer�s pension scheme this will usually, but not always, coincide with leaving your job. See �What happens if I leave my job?�

If you stop making contributions into a pension scheme you have arranged yourself (either a personal or stakeholder pension), the funds you have the following options:

You can leave your pension benefits in that scheme until you retire

You can transfer your pension benefits into another pension scheme.

If you leave your pension benefits in a scheme but are no longer making contributions to the scheme, the scheme charges may gradually erode your pension fund (particularly if it does not have strong growth and the charges are substantial) and your final pension may be reduced as a result. However the pension scheme may impose a penalty if you want to transfer your fund to another pension scheme. Because of the conditions imposed on managing stakeholder pensions these issues have less impact on stakeholder pensions.