Thread: withdrawing your pension pot

has anyone done this. how long did it take. how much trouble was it. how many hoops did u have to jump through.

Proceed with caution .

Many many many scam / fake companies especially in the N/W area of the UK just waiting to scoop your money up .

Best leave it be eh ?

Bit like that poxy equity release scheme , so many innocent people making the blood sucking money hawks rich

Taxman has rules to be observed also. some have lost their shirt.

Originally Posted by lob

has anyone done this. how long did it take. how much trouble was it. how many hoops did u have to jump through.

State pension in the UK?

^ I don't think he can be talking about that; more likely a UK private pension that you can get at a part of when your 55?

Many different types of pensions with many different rules; it's complex indeed...

Ah, ok, been wondering, 'cause I'll (probably) get a UK state pension myself eventually.

Darn, have to remind myself to inquire about my status, whether student years are counted etc.

Originally Posted by Bettyboo

^ I don't think he can be talking about that; more likely a UK private pension that you can get at a part of when your 55?

Many different types of pensions with many different rules; it's complex indeed...

I believe he is talking about withdrawing his State pension. That was made legal last year. A disastrous decision IMO. The inevitable result will be elderly people in dire poverty.

Stroller, get a State pension statement here
https://www.gov.uk/state-pension-statement

That'll show exactly how many qualifying years you have.

Originally Posted by DrB0b

The inevitable result will be elderly people in dire poverty.

... and it will be all their own fault because they did not work hard enough to find out what they should do.

I have qualifications as a financial adviser in the UK but have to admit that I struggle to offer definitive advice on this issue. Personally, I don't care anymore as I have already retired and sorted my own affairs prior to the changes.

Every man for himself in this world, I'm afraid. As I get older I am becoming more inclined to do as little thinking as possible for others. I have spent countless hours working on visa and British citizenship applications with little thanks. A lot of people do not think that contemplative work is really "work".

I sympathise with younger people who have to decide on their pensions. The whole thing is simply a device to free up capital which will give the economy a boost. To this end it will succeed but, as you say, some people will be wiped out.

Originally Posted by stroller

Ah, ok, been wondering, 'cause I'll (probably) get a UK state pension myself eventually. Darn, have to remind myself to inquire about my status, whether student years are counted etc.

Can be checked online to see if you're eligible.

I've got half of the requesite paid.
I've considered taking it out and investing it in property.
2 reasons.
Firstly there's no chance I'll make it to retirement age, and secondly, even if I did, surely there won't be anything left anyway, no matter what's currently promised.

Originally Posted by stroller

Ah, ok, been wondering, 'cause I'll (probably) get a UK state pension myself eventually.

Darn, have to remind myself to inquire about my status, whether student years are counted etc.

Think you need a minimum of 10 years fully paid up National Insurance contributions to qualify for a state pension or you get fuk all, but i'll happily stand corrected.

Originally Posted by buriramboy

Think you need a minimum of 10 years fully paid up National Insurance contributions to qualify for a state pension or you get fuk all, but i'll happily stand corrected.

Basically correct but a much reduced rate of pension will be paid because of the fact that there are only 10 qualfying years.

I don't think I paid anything as a student, so I'll fall short of the 10 years.
Maybe go and work in the UK for another year before I'll get old?
Or in the EU perhaps the UK and German credits will be combined somehow, I'll just have to write and find out.

Originally Posted by stroller

I don't think I paid anything as a student

I think that is taken into consideration and you're exempt for those years as a student. Similar to being unemployed.

When you're unemployed your national insurance contributions are paid by the state but not when you are a student.

Originally Posted by lob

has anyone done this. how long did it take. how much trouble was it. how many hoops did u have to jump through.

You will have to be much more detailed and precise if you want a sensible answer.

What pension? Who was the provider? What sort of scheme was it? How old are you? Are you retired already? Where are you domiciled? What is your tax rate?

Originally Posted by DrB0b

I believe he is talking about withdrawing his State pension. That was made legal last year. A disastrous decision IMO. The inevitable result will be elderly people in dire poverty.

What????

AFAIK, the only way one can withdraw a State Pension Allowance in a lump sum is by deferring receipt and then receiving the deferred payments at a later date. The advantage in doing this was the addition of a sum equivalent to 10% of the amount you had deferred that year. This advantage ends I think in April this year following which the annual addition will be limited to 5-6%.

I think the septics can capitalise part of their state pensions if they so choose but the UK scheme doesn't provide for this.

The changes to the pension regulations last year affected those on defined contribution schemes who hitherto were compelled to take out an annuity which over the past decade have proved catastrophic for most. Now one can withdraw at will but subject to tax of course which is obviously an issue.

afaik u cant withdraw your state pension so not necessary to be that precise with my title. i understand the tax implications more than most. all other points covered. ive just foreclosed on a pension, and the company involved applied the money laundering rules, they have had me jumping through hoops, putting it mildly. its taken the company 10 weeks to realize that i aint stupid and i aint jumping through hoops, so they decide to release the dosh, then play another card, ie, they cant send a check to be cashed in los , they cant pay into my uk banks as my address is different from the one they have on record. anything and everything not to pay out. total bull shit. was just trying to get an over all pic of the claims the companies make. every thing except unfortunately. but thanks for the input lads.

You could write to them and DHL the letter explaining that you have moved from your former address and that your letter is formal confirmation of that. The difficulty these days is that institutions limit themselves to electronic transfers of £10,000 at a time. Some have differing rules about this but it is a pain. Having a UK address is crucial these days if one maintains a bank account and other financial arrangements in place there.
Bizarre though it may seem, the whole thing is best sorted personally while you are present in the UK. I had a similar experience whilst in the UK some years ago and at the time I realised that if I had not been there on a visit I simply could not have accomplished what I needed to do.

Originally Posted by Seekingasylum

Having a UK address is crucial these days if one maintains a bank account and other financial arrangements in place there.

I don't have a UK address but being as my account was opened before I left the UK they allowed me to change address to here in Thailand.

AFAIK, the only way one can withdraw a State Pension Allowance in a lump sum is by deferring receipt and then receiving the deferred payments at a later date. The advantage in doing this was the addition of a sum equivalent to 10% of the amount you had deferred that year. This advantage ends I think in April this year following which the annual addition will be limited to 5-6%.

correct



What's happening with the state pension in 2016?

Is it worth deferring the state pension?

People still also have the option to defer their state pension in order to get a higher weekly sum or a lump sum when they do decide to take it. We take you though your options if you want to defer your state pension.

1.How can I defer my state pension?

If you choose to delay your state pension when you reach state pension age, you can get a higher weekly state pension or a lump sum payment. How much depends on how long you defer claiming it.

You can defer your pension for as long as you want (the longer you defer the more you’ll get), but you must defer the whole amount including any additional state pension.

The rules allow you to change your mind once you’ve started receiving your state pension, meaning that you can then defer in order to earn extra money in the future.



2. What you’ll get if you opt for a weekly increase

If you want to try and boost your weekly state pension by delaying when you receive it, you'll have to put off claiming it for at least five weeks.

For every five weeks you defer, you'll get a pension increase of 1%. This works out at 10.4% for every full year.

So if you hit state pension age in 2015 and just received the basic state pension of £115.95 a week, over a year you'd earn £6,029.40.

Deferring for a year will see you increase your annual state pension to £6,656.46, or £128.01 a week, an increase of £627 a year.

For people qualifying for the state pension after April 2016, the rate of annual increase will fall from 10.4% to 5.8%, making the offer less attractive.

The extra amount will be taxed in the same way as the rest of your state pension.

3. What you’ll get if you opt for a lump sum.

You can delay taking your state pension and receive it as lump sum, but you'll have to defer for at least a year in order to get the lump sum payment.

It's worked out as if you had put the deferred pension into a savings account where it earned 2% above the base rate (currently 0.5%) using a compound interest calculation.

So if you hit state pension age in 2015 and just receive the basic state pension of £115.95 a week, over a year you'd earn £6,029.40.
Deferring for a year will see you able to take a lump sum of around £6,180.
Like the extra pension, the lump sum is also taxable, but only at the top rate you were paying beforehand. You won't move into a higher tax bracket.

From 2016 onwards, deferring for a lump sum won't be possible.

4. Is it a good idea to defer my state pension?

Deferring your state pension can be a good idea if you’ve sufficient retirement income from other sources. You can treat the state pension as a savings account.

The fact that the option will be less generous after April 2016 may put people off in the longer term. You’ll now have to live for around 19 years to benefit from the decision to defer for one year, compared to an extra 10 years at the current rate of interest. However, if you reached the state pension age before 6 April 2016, and choose to defer in the future, you'll still qualify for the more generous rate of 10.4%.

Delaying taking your pension for too long can eventually stop paying off as you’ll be giving up over £5,000 in income each year which will take some time to build up again. Your health will be a determining factor – there’s no point deferring if you’re in poor health.

Is it worth deferring the state pension? - What's happening with the state pension in 2016? - Retirement - Which? Money

Originally Posted by Pragmatic

Originally Posted by stroller

I don't think I paid anything as a student

I think that is taken into consideration and you're exempt for those years as a student. Similar to being unemployed.

You are not exempt, I was a mature student for a time and had to make up two years contributions out my own pocket.

it can be a very worth while move to pay up/buy into the state pension. some years back you could buy the necessary missing years, make up the shortage, dont know what the score is now.

Originally Posted by Ronin

You are not exempt, I was a mature student for a time and had to make up two years contributions out my own pocket.

Seems silly when one really can't juggle a full time job with studying.

Originally Posted by Pragmatic

Originally Posted by Ronin

You are not exempt, I was a mature student for a time and had to make up two years contributions out my own pocket.

Seems silly when one really can't juggle a full time job with studying.

Having a full-time job and studying will not affect your pension contributions. I was a full-time mature student (i.e not working at all). That is why the contributions stopped and the bastards told me after the event!