UK pensions

[Martyn]

I was wondering what people like me in the uk have planned for their retirement. I have just taken voluntary redundancy and I have been in our company pension scheme for the last 20 years. This gives me an option to take my pension now(i'm 58) or wait til i'm 65 and get a larger pension along with my state pension. Talking to friends of mine of a similar age I'm just surprised the number of them who have no pension provision other than that their pension is 'in my house'. What are your plans for retirement?

 

[hijo]

..i took my company pension when i was 52 ..i could have took it at 50..but did,nt think it was worth that much ,,as i was only in the scheme for 3 years ..but i paid in extra to boost it up so in effect i had a 9 year pension..they gave me a choice of 3 options ..i took the middle one ..,a lump sum £23,000 and around £300 a month pension for life.. funnily enough i had forgotton all about it, until a police friend of mine brought it up..so get in those drawers for your policies ,you could be sitting on a tidy sum..

 

[v6cod]

I was made redundant from my IT job in 2002, rather than give the tax man a lot of money I opted to take the maximum tax free allowed and put a substantial amount into my pension. I had already worked for 20 years with the same company.

I took my pension from when I was 50 in 2005 with a lump sum of around £25k and an annual pension of around £800 a month (index linked) for life.

Redundancy worked for me :amen:

 

[EVELYNNE]

Those that have company pensions or in the civil services are very lucky . I have a very small civil service pension which ws frozen when i left back in the late 70's and another small pension from a large company i worked 10 yrs for when i returned to work. I was made redundant and managed to get work but at half the salary i was on. Subsequently i have neverf afforded to save for a pension. we decided to buy a property in turkey to enjoy now and hopefully keep for our retirement. we still have a small mortgage on our house but intend downsizing in a few years to give us a cash pot.

who knows what the future holds - but im sure not going to worry about it - i saw my parents scrimp and save worrying their retirement away ,they run a small B&B until dad was into his seventy.s and by time they bought their retirement home dad had alzheimers so i can;t say retirement was a bed of roses for them.

Im having to work until im 65 now instead of 60 to get my divs , so a long time off !!!! yet !!!

 

[angelaturkey]

Martyn - take the money and run - NOW! Why wait another 7 years when you could be enjoying the sunbathing and swimming and new lifestyle of Turkey? I am 59 yrs old now - sold my 2-bed flat in Surrey 5 years ago - bought 2 x places in Side Turkey and still had money left to pop into the bank for the high monthly interest... so now I live on that interest + rental income from 1 property ... best thing I ever did. Working in the UK was getting soooo stressy then in the high power jobs and I believe now it is even worse for most people. WHY STRESS YOURSELF FOR ANOTHER 7 YEARS???!!!!

 

[hijo]

..good advice angelaturkey..you never know if you,ll even be around in 7 years time ..so enjoy your retirement now when you have the chance.

 

[Kusann]

I took my pension at 50(2007) with a lump sum I worked out the pros & cons lots of sums.I had stop paying 2004 when I moved to Turkey.
People said leave it until your 55 it will make a lot difference so I got a forcast for 55 it did`nt make a lot difference.
I had been it the scheme for a long time it gives me an income now not much, I could`nt live on it,but I would rather have it in my pocket/bank then leave it who knows whats around the corner.
If your made redundant sometimes they make pension up.
I was made to join pension system when I was 19 my dad said it was the way to go.

 

[ted j]

Be aware that the uk government has a "cap" of £16,500 , so if the TOTAL amount of money in your pension(s) ie the amount that the pension providers have in "your pot" is over that amount, you can only have a quarter of your money as a tax free lump sum. The rest MUST be paid monthly to you .I got my lump sums, and started to take mine this year. (I'm getting money now that i would NEVER have got), the difference, if I had left it until 65, was minimal and i will have 4 years worth of money that is spendable now (remember, it won't buy have the same buying power in another 4 years) . So please check yours if you're eligible, ask for a forecast and do the sums. I'm glad I did. Ted

 

[rosewall1]

How many people have you heard of who work until they are 65 and die within the year. My advice is take the pension as soon as possible. My husband retired when he was 52 and we sold up and moved to Turkey, we have no mortgage, and live on his pension and my pensions, interest from the Turkish bank and ok so income has dropped drastically over the past year but we still manage and do not regret moving here. Work is a very nasty word especially if you have reached the stage when you hate it.

 

[Martyn]

Thanks for the input so far. I've no intent on getting a stressful job and no need, a small job minimum wage will do. My options with my pension are £751 pm pension now index linked or a lump sum of £38000 + a reduced pension of £415 pm. I can also take a reduced lump sum and larger pension between the figures above. I can also let it run until i'm 65 but I think the same I might not be alive then or not 100% able. I think I might take it now. I also got a good redundancy payment and I have no mortgage.

 

[butt007]

Could'nt agree more Rosewall1, at 67 thought to myself, gotta do something about this, so bought an apt here in Konakli, got an interest only mortgage on the house when we got back of the inspection trip, got the house sold eventually after the first sale fell through aaaaaaarrrgg!! paid back the mortgage(had it 11months) and 8 mths later off we went so here we are been here 2yrs 9mth and we love it.
We where already on our state pensions, so all I had to do was cash in my personal pensions, and hey,ho merrily we go, and lovin' it.
Warren

Martyn, go for it pal you don't get any younger, and on your pensions you are laughing!! you'll live easily enough on that.
Well gotta go now, off to Crusoe's bar in Alanya shortly to watch Liverpool v Man city plus of course a few beers etc, etc Cheers
Warren

 

[v6cod]

How many people have you heard of who work until they are 65 and die within the year.

My father in law decided to work an extra year, and died two days before he was 66 and due to retire. The thing was he had no debts would have had a comfortable pension when he was 65 so didn't need to work on.

It is a no brainer for me, if you can afford to just do it.

 

[bebs]

take it and enjoy none of ous have tomorrow -Bebs

 

[lesleykay]

I would take the lump sum, hopefully in the not too distant future interest rates may go back up in the Uk and you could get an income from these savings, which in addition to your pension payment would be good. You say that you would be happy to take a minimum wage job, which would indicate that it should be stress free, but most employers want their pound of flesh these days and even minimum wage jobs in the Uk are hard work.

I run a shop and hope one day (a few years) to be able to sell it as a going concern, buy another property here (uk) to rent out and move to Turkey. It is a dream and I hope it will be a reality. My main concerns with living in Turkey full time are missing the kids and health care.

 

[stevecarol]

We have only a small pension fund which i can get my hands on in just over 3 years,(will be 55 then) but coupled with the sale of my share of my business in 3 years, (recession permitting) and the sale of our house we should be able to buy a small apartment here and have enough invested to provide a resonable living income in Turkey,
Thats the plan but finding it hard not to sell up here and move now, now our villa is finished and paid for.

 

[hijo]

.. i agree with all the above posts ..grab it now while you have it ,and your health to enjoy it..you never know whats round the corner..and as ted j says it is capped at £16,500..heaven knows what the next goverment will do..

 

[RIK]

Martyn.I suggest that you do what many others have said and take the money are go.We bought our place in Antalya two years before we finshed work.When I got to 55 and after working for the same company for 37 years I thought it was time to go.Did all equations and decided it was a goer.Mrs RİK was in a similar position having worked for the Electricity Board most of her life.We discussed it and decided to move full time to Turkey.No regrets, in fact the best thing we have ever done.Lots of World wide Hols which we could never have done from the uk.My boss paid a private pension for me so I got an excellent tax free lump sum and 550 per month.What I have noticed from these posts is that nobody has mentioned SERP'S.If you paid into this then you can take it at 50.I took it at 58 ( because I forgot about it ) If you paid into it for most of your life then it should be a good sum.I got 15000 Tax Free and 170 per month for life.Rack your brains !

Ian

 

[Tommie]

I was wondering what people like me in the uk have planned for their retirement. I have just taken voluntary redundancy and I have been in our company pension scheme for the last 20 years. This gives me an option to take my pension now(i'm 58) or wait til i'm 65 and get a larger pension along with my state pension. Talking to friends of mine of a similar age I'm just surprised the number of them who have no pension provision other than that their pension is 'in my house'. What are your plans for retirement?

This is a difficult one to answer as a lot depends on your own personal circumstances.

I would strongly suggest that you contact an IFA and see what they suggest.
Best contact a fee-paying one as against a free one. I consulted an IFA last year and it cost me £250 and it was well worth it.. I have recently retired at 65. He still gives me advice now and again, free of charge.

The fee paying one won't try and sell you anything, whereas if you see a free one, they will expect you to buy one or more of their products.

If you are in reasonably good health, then try and hold onto your pensions until you are 65 or longer.

If you already have a property abroad then fine, if not, then you may have to dip into your assets sooner or later to get one.

If you delay, then property prices will almost certainly increase, and most likely outstrip any increase in your assets, such as delayed pension.

I took a lump sum from my pension which enabled me to purchase my apartment.

Everyone's circumstances are different, so it's a tricky one to answer, unless you have a crystal ball.

Tommie

 

[immac]

If you are going to move abroad permanently, then you can move your pension pot "offshore" too and take it all tax free at any age after 50. You can also take 25% tax free lump sum (possibly going up to 33% next year). But you must be sure you are not going back to UK or the tax man will want his contribution back.

Search under QROPS for more details.

Ian

 

[Terry the Celt]

I suppose people would say I ceased employment and stopped working in 1994 at 48 when I went self employed.
I think Rosewall is right in that people who work for a company until 65 very often have health problems.I was a bit depressed in that I am 63 Lol.

With self employment you do what you want when you want and having started at 7 days a week back in 1994 ,I can effectively do it in 3-4 days now because I have reduced the time spent on it and the thought of the traditional 9-5.30 day of employment with pressures to keep an employer happy, fills me with horror.

I would say if employed ,definitely try to go by 60 but in my days as a financial planner, pension annuity rates were really crap pre 60 so people that went earlier made their benefits paid up and took them later at 60 if they could manage to.
I have left my pensions (Odds and ends from various companies) as well as my self employed plan until 65 ,firstly because we manage on my income and Sue,s state pension of £420 a month together and secondly to get a better annuity rate at 65.

My state pension at 65 will be £400 a month and I will take maximum cash of around
£25k (Always best as tax free!!) from my series of bits and pieces plus a pension from the remaining fund of £75k so it wont be astronomic !.
I reckon we end up with say jointly £1500 a month in total pension income plus various investments on top so should be ok for us to live comfortably with no mortgages or debts on 2 properties.
I agree I wouldnt want to being employed until 65 but self employment is fine as it can be run almost as a hobby until 100 if you want!!
Here is hoping Rosewall is wrong boohoo!!!! 2 years to go and keep up with the gym (sweat sweat!!)

Thats my plan ,Martyn ,for here in the UK, mate!!