Private Pension Query

[piggynose]

I wont beat around the bush!!
Can the insurance company who are managing my company pension refuse to pay me what is rightfully mine ?
I'm 64 now. Anyway I thought I'd get in touch with them to see where I stand. After lots of phonecalls I finally spoke to somebody. Anyway they said i am not entitled to anything yet!!! So what should I do next?
A mate told me I should have got something when I was 55. A lump sum of 25%!
Any advice would be appreciated
Tia

[QuizmasterG]

Have you checked the documentation of the pension you signed up for?
Some personal policies allow you to withdraw a lump sum after 55 but others won't pay anything until you actually retire from the company (if a private company scheme).

[bednobs]

it seems to me that your pension company probably know more about their product than your mate down the pub does.

[QuizmasterG]

p.s.Never take a mates advice on anything as important as a pension!!
Seek expert help.

[ToraToraTora]

is it a defined benefit scheme? If so then the retirement date is set at inception. You can convert it to money purchase but that would be a very bad idea.

[ToraToraTora]

Can you give us a bit more information as to what kind of scheme it is? Do you have a retirement date on the documentation? is the amount you get based of years of service or do you just have an amount of money that grows over time?

[Maydup]

It’s seems like a very tight policy you gave there with your funds looked in still. I have been drawing on mine from age 60 but I do use a financial adviser who prepared the way for that to happen.

It’s worth contacting Pension Wise for free advice. It’s run via Citizens Advice Bureau.

https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/debt-and-money/pensions/nearing-retirement/what-you-can-do-with-your-pension-pot/

[DTCwordfan]

read the paperwork that you got, anyway only a few months to wait now...assuming retirement was set at 65.

[ToraToraTora]

I have a similar scheme that has 62 as retirement age and I can't touch it till then. (I can convert it to MP but that would be unwise)

[DTCwordfan]

thought you were already 72+ TTT......

[QuizmasterG]

Never take internet advice on anything as important as a pension!!
Seek expert help.

[Old_Geezer]

I had a number of pensions from different jobs. Some matured when I was aged 60, some at 65, the remaining one is unaccountably set for sometime in my 70s ! (Although I'm told I can change that. )

You need to look at the terms of your pension.

[Old_Geezer]

Oh and lump sums are an option, not obligatory. If you have a need for finance when the pension matures then worth considering; but I always opted to take none and have a larger monthly pension payment instead.

[Hopkirk]

The benefit of the 25% lump sum in the UK is that it is tax free.
Piggy lives in Spain, so the rules may be different there.

[Hymie]

Depending of the commutation rate, not taking a lump sum could be a bad choice.

I recently took a pension lump sum of 25% tax free with a commutation rate of just under 21 – in other words for every £1 of yearly pension I sacrificed, I received a tax free amount of £21. Had I not taken the lump sum, after paying tax in the annual pension income (at 20%), it would take me over 26 years before the annual pension payments exceeded the tax free lump sum. For someone retiring at 65, they would need to live into their 90’s to win out.

[Maydup]

I draw down on my funds and include 25% tax free each month rather than as a lump sum. Just sharing that as another option for anyone reading this.

[Chairman2001]

We cannot help you - it all depends on the terms of the Pension Contract.

[Hymie]

Maydup – I trust that they are paying you interest on your 25% tax free lump sum – you might even find that they are changing you to ‘look after’ your money.

[bobbinwales]

Hymie itll be invested with the rest of the funds that remsin after drawdown and hopefully growing by more in the long run than your get in bsbk interest. No point in drawing all 25% as cash if you don't need it.
I'm not sure it's helping the op though who wants access to it and can't get it

[piggynose]

Thanx for all your replies.
I've left it with my accountant mate. Hopefully he'll have more luck with it than me.

[bobbinwales]

Why not ask your employer or there pension scheme....they may say simply that there's no provision for early drawing... although that's unusual. Are u still working there?