the scheme was established, employers with final-salary pension schemes could choose to contract-out of SERPS, provided they gave scheme members a Guaranteed Minimum Pension. In return for opting out of SERPS the employer would pay reduced National Insurance contributions. In 1988 members of money purchase pension schemes were allowed to opt out for the first time. Instead of providing a Guaranteed Minimum Pension these schemes had to pay the saving in National Insurance contributions into the pension arrangement. To encourage the take-up of this arrangement the government made an extra incentive payment into each pension scheme where somebody contracted out using this route. According to the Financial Services Authority, many policy holders who contracted out of the state pension may have been victims of SERPs Pension Mis-selling and lost funds that deserve compensation. Hence an investigation was launched to investigate the claims that millions of employees had been led astray with the advice to contract out of SERPS. As the government began to question the long-term affordability of the SERPS, they offered incentives to encourage people to opt out of the SERPS into an Appropriate Personal Pension (APP). The rebates offered by the government as incentives to opting out have since been cut, causing many to question whether it was misleading to encourage people to opt out, as many are now being advised to opt back in. Ultimately, investigations have shown that mis-sold pension affected some, but not others. For some, returning to the state pension is a favorable option, but for others in different financial circumstances and with different financial needs, the APP option is also beneficial. After 2002 In April 2002 SERPS accrual ended and was replaced by the State Second Pension. The main reason for the change was to provide a larger pension to people of low earnings. From April 2016 the old Basic State Pension plus Additional State Pension (SERPS, State Second Pension and Graduated Retirement Benefit) were replaced by the New State Pension. References External links SERPS on Directgov Pensions in the United Kingdom Social security in the United Kingdom