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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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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, 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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Question re CS Alpha Pension
I have written to the CS pension people but they are not very good at replying! Have tried to find the answer in the various documents but failed... I'm a member of Alpha - protected rights to go at age 55. OH and I are planning to get out ASAP, multiple reasons including increasingly dependent parents. His side is easy,…
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Is the 4% rule still applicable today?
I’ve read a number of articles that Bill Bengen who came up with the 4% rule for drawdown is stating that he believes it is more appropriate to be drawing between 5.25% and 5.5% due to ‘today’s’ economic environment. What are people’s thoughts on this?
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First job…what’s recommended
Hi there, my daughter will start her first job in a month, with a salary of around £25k. She will turn 18 around the same time…while Zi’m aware she’d need to opt in to the Company scheme (which matches up to 10%) I’m not sure d what the right advice is at that age. Hubby says get her to put 5% in, employer matches… My…
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Pensions paid twice this week
Both my husband and I have our state pensions paid into our joint account weekly. This morning, when logging into the account, I discovered that both pensions had been paid twice. I realised that one set of pensions had been paid early, due to Bank Holiday Monday. But unsure why they have paid these pensions in twice. Has…
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What is the best choice?
Hi not sure if this is the right place but I know you are very knowledgeable here, so I work for a company that offers a £1046 reward at the end of the year, kinda Christmas bonus/reward. We can have it either as £1046 paid into my account, not sure how much I'd lose with tax and Nat insurance taken off? (I earn about 40k…
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Multiple LGPS Account question
Hi, My mum has 3 LGPS accounts on her Staffordshire Pension Fund LGPS login. 2 of them show as "Undecided Leaver" status and the other, from her current employment is Active. 1 of the "Undecided Leaver" accounts has statements for 2019, 2021, 2022 and 2023 the other "Undecided Leaver" account has statements for 2019, 2020,…
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Making the most of my Pension , short term pain long term gain !!
Hi all, iam looking to settle on the my final strategy
to withdraw my SIPP in the most efficient way possible and get the best
financial outcome I can for me and the family (as far as the current rules go)
. I set out my current thoughts which I believe are the best way to obtain the
best finical situation , even though it…
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What do people mean by "pension value"?
On other threads I read stuff like Do they mean they get £171K annually?
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Missed Deadline for Added Years Buyback
Hi, Like many, I missed the deadline for adding extra years that my pension check calculator showed that I owed, as the HMRC website/app was overwhelmed. I took the MSE advice and filled in a HMRC form requesting a call back, but I don't recall seeing a call from HMRC. What do I do now? My NI Record shows Not Full entries…
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National Insurance gaps in 2001 - 2004 when I was a student at university
Hello, I was just looking at my National Insurance record on the HMRC website and noticed that in 2001 - 2004 it says "year is not full" I was at university during those years. Is that what's expected? Is there any way of making those "full years"? Thanks.
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Newbie Pension Help.
Hi Guys, would appreciate your thoughts. I am an NHS employee with 34 years service.I am 57 years of age, my plan moving forward is partial retirement at 60. Taking my 1995 pension benefits, whilst continuing with vastly reduced hours and still contributing to my 2015 pension. I also have an old DC policy (with GAR) This…
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USS tax free lump sum age 68
my husband is still working full time and not intending to retire till 70 ish, has 40+ years in USS. Can he draw down his tax free lump sum any time or does he have to start flex retirement? If he flexes 20% down does he have to take the same proportion pension as TFLS or could he take 80% TFLS? planning to do house…
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HMRC waiting time period to sort out additional NI payments
Hi there, I've just called HMRC about a completed CF83 form that I sent them by registered post 23rd May 2025. I want to make some additional payments to make up some missing State Pension years from a time when I was living overseas. Staff informed me that they were still processing applications that came in on 6th…
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Standard life pension advice
Hi. I have a standard life group pension plan that I have discovered has a 20 fund limit on the lifetime of the fund. I have reached that 20 limit so can’t change to any new funds. Do I move this pension to a new pension? Having this 20 funds limit is a restriction on me getting the most from my pension and also putting my…
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Should I retire - help me debate
Would appreciate some thoughts on my thinking. I’m 57 in good health, married, no kids. DH is financially independent. my job is ok but there are things I’d rather be doing (and some like spending time with my 80 year old mum who won’t be around forever). I’m disincentivised to pay 40% tax in retirement so feel I’m getting…
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Effect of contracting out of state pension
Hello I am 59. I have 39 years of qualifying NI contributions according to my online record. My State Pension forecast shows a full State Pension at 67. It also says the forecast is based on my contributions to end March 2024. BUT I have finished working (so no more NI contributions by employer) and I have a COPE amount of…
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Refining retirement options
Hello Experts. I’m new here
and looking for thoughts please on retirement options. I hadn’t really been
thinking much about retirement, but have started doing so now with some urgency
since spouse received a cancer diagnosis earlier this year. Financially I feel
we are in a comfortable position. So my question is really…
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Helping friend with pension
My friend has had an inheritance and we were discussing how best to save it for the future. I suggested putting it into her pension, but she reckons it's too good to be true! She's 54, so am I right in saying she can put the money in now, and start getting the money back (with the tax relief uplift) when she turns 55? This…
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25% Tax Free Lump Sum Pre Budget
I am due to take my DB Pension in January which also has a significant Tax Free Lump sum in excess of £100k which I built up in linked AVCs through my working life always planning to use these as the Tax Free part of my pension. I have contacted the Pension provider to see if I could draw say 3 months early to beat the…
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Can I use AVC WISE or Do I have to use Prudential with regards to my AVC?
Stupid Question Alert?!? Hello everyone I'm currently in the process of looking at sorting an AVC payment with my LGPS ..on my employers website it says it offers 'Shared cost Salary Sacrifice' www.telford.gov.uk/info/21840/working_here/6636/employee_benefits I'm just reading stories on here regarding people's horror…
Got questions about boosting your state pension by checking your record with the Future Pension Centre and making voluntary National Insurance contributions?
702 discussions
6.2K comments
Most recent: Where can I claim NI credits? by molerat
26 August at 5:01PM
