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Success Stories - Pensions
This is a bit of a light topic where the idea is to highlight what successes you had with your pension pots. Example - I contributed X and accumulated Y by Z year. Total appreciation was 'x' percent. Just trying to learn the following that could inspire a range of people - those with no pension, those who started late etc.…
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Pensions Planning: The NUMBER
The NUMBER is how much income you need to "live comfortably" So What's your number? Very important for pensions planning, to know what you are aiming for. My Number? (for a couple) I calculated: £22,000 based on Food £5,000 Car/transport £5,000 Bills/Utilities £4,500 Holidays/Leisure £4,500 Clothing/Cash/Xmas/Other £2,000…
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Acronyms etc..
Hello to all. As a fairly new forum user I would appreciate someone posting a key to the acronyms and arcane terms used when discussing pension issues. Thank you in advance.
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Pensions, Annuities & Retirement Planning Sticky
Welcome to the new Pensions, Annuities and Retirement Planning sticky! 👋 📖 Here are some Forum threads you may find useful (if there are any you think have been missed, please do let us know): * Can I cash in my pension? * Early-retirement wannabe * It's time to start digging up those Squirrelled Nuts!!!! 📝 And here's some…
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High risk, high reward: A pauper's dream of early retirement.
As regulars on this forum will know, I am trying to retire early while working part time, with a current salary of about £21.5K. Five years ago (after the loss of a loved one) I started to take my life and my finances a bit more seriously. I was 43 at the time, with a combined pension and ISA of £73.5k. I decided to make…
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Utmost Life and Pensions unknown pension balance
My wife received a letter from Utmost life and pensions saying that she has an unclaimed pension of about £6K. It seems to be for AVC contributions but she says she never made any AVC contributions. The letter does mention "National Health Service Pension Scheme Personal Pension - Residual Fund". I believe that at some…
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NI gap years 2025
I telephoned the DWP in March 2025 to register my interest in buying 5 full and 1 part years NI gaps after seeing Martin Lewis' programme. Despite a couple of telephone reminders when I was assured I would be contacted and subsequent letter dated 22/09/25 acknowledging that I had contacted DWP on 25 Mar 2025 I have not…
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Pension or ISA
We are able to put more money into out private pension pot monthly. Is it better to put into the pension or ISA? Planning to retire in next 5 years.
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how easy is it to open a SIPP and use carry forward allowance?
currently I’m putting around 40k a year into my workplace pension. previous years more like 35k. I have a 43k in a cash ISA that I don’t need for at least 3 years, and even then not all of it. that would be after our planned retirement date. so I’m considering whether to try and push it into a SIPP. 25% boost from HMRC,…
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New Capita-run Civil Service Pension Scheme - problems (what a surprise!)
So, Capita have taken over the admin for the CSPS and their new website and members portal went live this week. I have just registered on the new portal and am not in the least bit surprised to find that the information available on the new portal is very scant and incorrect in terms of my length of service. With…
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Should I Delay Buying Gilt Ladder
I was intending to setup a 5 year index linked Gilt Ladder in the next couple of weeks with the first year maturing in 2035. The money is currently sitting in a Money market fund. With the strong possibility now of rising inflation and interest rates would there be any benefit in delaying the purchase? My feeling is for…
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Having trouble with nest, anyone else and any advice?
Condensed version. Always had credentials autosaved. About 6 months ago I tried to log in and had issues, the password reset system was then stuck in an error loop. Done all the basic trouble shooting, different devices, browsers, internet connections etc. I've called their customer service several times now and they just…
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SIPP &Carry forward, to add to DB pension
I have a defined benefit pension through my employer. I am still under Higher rate tax even before salary sacrifice (though getting close). I plan to retire (early to time it with older partner state pension age) in a bit over 5 years, drawing my private pension(s). I just unfortunately inherited some money (40k), plus…
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Index linked gilts and index linked annuities: are you moving money into them, yea or nay?
There has been a dramatic switch around in the real redemption yields on index-linked gilts recently (see my chart at end of post). The return above inflation available for an index-linked gilt bought today if held to maturity is for example around 1.5%pa for the 2048 maturity, compared with around minus 2.5%pa back in…
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LGPS Options
Hi, I am taking Voluntary redundancy on 30th June from my local authority. When will the Pension section contact me or do I have to get in touch with them? Anyone know what sort of options they will offer me? I have an AVC as well. Thanks
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Missing Pension Transfer
Hi Everybody Just joined the forum to get some help with a pension issue. Back from 1987 to 1993 I worked for Natwest Bank. I vaguely remember being "contracted out " of SERPS and did some investigating and found that I had a pension fund with the Natwest Group Pension Scheme. After loads of hassle and heated discussions I…
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tax and multiple private pensions
a friend has 3 small private pensions and the state pension and she is currently paying tax on two of the private pensions, just checking if that is correct as I thought they aggregated the amount of tax due across the board and just took it off one pension.
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Close to LSA and likely higher rate in retirement -- am I overlooking anything?
I'm a USS member. At present the USS benefit modeller suggests that at my planned retirement age in around 7 years time I would be able to take an income of £37k and lump sum of £250k. The modeller gives figures in 2026 terms (subject to a lot of assumptions of course.) What the modeller does not model is the changes to…
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Pension Scammers Target People Who Want To Avoid IHT
Putting this here just in case although I suspect none of the regulars here would fall for it. As with all IHT, the only ways to avoid it are impoverish yourself, risk running out of money, convert cash to income, or trust your offspring.…
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CSPS - Capita added Alpha ABS
My wife has now had a 2025 ABS appear on the portal. Catch is that it only includes her Alpha, which she didn't have for long. Her Classic is missing off the ABS and portal still. That one was much larger and previously had a reasonable pension and Lump Sum. I'm guessing Capita have not yet got to those.
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Pension Input Amount for CS Classic and Alpha
I’m trying to help my brother-in-law with some pension calculations as he has a lump sum that he’d like to add to a SIPP but needs to calculate approx PIA to work out how much he can contribute. Assuming Capita will never turn round a formal request even for 2024/2025 in time - how could we go about getting the approximate…
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Uncrystallised funds in my Drawdown SIPP. Why?
I have about 400000 in my drawdown SIPP with CMC Invest. They have just sent me an annual illustration which shows that I have funds of "Uncrystallised £700, Drawdown £400000". I don't understand where the uncrystallised amount has come from. I have never added new funds to this SIPP. I transferred the full drawdown pot…
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Civil Service Classic Pension - claiming late
Dear all - having read the Classic Scheme Guide I am unclear what happens if you first claim the Classic Pension at say aged 62 instead of 60. Some of the posts here suggest that the 2-yrs worth of pension that could've been claimed but wasn't is lost, but some say that those 2-yrs is paid as a single lump sum. Could…
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Really confused by SIPPs
Believe me I have tried researching this stuff but still don't know how to proceed. Currently 59 (soon to be 60) and retired, taking my Civil Service pension, no other income, never intend to work again. I have not used my Lump Sum at all, so currently have it in a stocks and shares ISA, doing pretty well too. I have…
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Most recent: IHT on Pension Pots after April 2027 by garybaldy
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