I started a Govt. 'Stakeholder Pension' thru Scottish Widows (SW) in Oct 2015. I left the company with whom the pension was initiated in 2017 and it has not been contributed to since that date. Today I received a summary from SW saying the pension had a value of c.£450. Clearly there is no value to me in continuing to view the pension value as a possible viable pension for the future. I am 63 yrs old. Therefore:-
1. Am I right in saying that I can convert the pension to an immediate cash payment ?
2. Assuming this is correct, could someone give mea rough indication how much of the
current value I might lose if I did ?
This link advises that SW are one of the Companies that will allow charge free access. As long as you meet the rules re the sum of all pensions added together in Peters post, you need to phone the Co. and ask for an up to date valuation (when statements arrive they the balance is usually for the end of the previous month/quarter). There will have also been some movement in the market, they will then advise you how to proceed. Another alternative would to transfer it into your current pension scheme.
As I understand it 25% is tax free, and tax will be charged at shortpaul's marginal rate on 75%. As tax relief was added to the fund, and if it has performed well he should still get out more than he paid in. Confirmation of the 'free of charge' in my link needs to be checked with them.
As Davebro says, in the scheme of things it hardly worth leaving.