How do I cash in my pension?

Emily1975
Emily1975 Posts: 75 Forumite
in Pensions, annuities & retirement planning
Hi - great site.

I used to contribute to a pension with a former employer but left several years ago. The money is still just sitting there doing nothing and I occasionally get a statement from Norwich Union telling me what the level of savings is.

Money has been tight this year and I deserve a holiday! There's only a couple of thousand pounds in this fund which is likely to only provide a pension of a few hundred pounds so I'd rather just take the cash. Does anyone here know how I go about this as I find pensions too complicated!

Thanks.
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Comments

  • dunstonh
    dunstonh Posts: 116,316 Forumite
    Name Dropper First Anniversary First Post Combo Breaker
    The money is still just sitting there doing nothing

    Its not doing nothing. It is subject to investment returns.
    Money has been tight this year and I deserve a holiday!

    I will leave Bendix to comment on that one!
    I'd rather just take the cash. Does anyone here know how I go about this
    Death is the only way.
    I am an Independent Financial Adviser (IFA). The comments I make are just my opinion and are for discussion purposes only. They are not financial advice and you should not treat them as such. If you feel an area discussed may be relevant to you, then please seek advice from an Independent Financial Adviser local to you.
  • ankspon
    ankspon Posts: 2,371 Forumite
    You can't touch it till you retire
  • Emily1975
    Emily1975 Posts: 75 Forumite
    Hmmm are you sure? I don't remember being told this at the time.

    Can anyone else confirm?
  • seven-day-weekend
    seven-day-weekend Posts: 36,755 Forumite
    Name Dropper First Anniversary Photogenic First Post
    edited 22 August 2010 at 3:11PM
    Emily1975 wrote: »
    Hmmm are you sure? I don't remember being told this at the time.

    Can anyone else confirm?

    I think you probably were told at the time as your product is called a PENSION which seems to suggest that it might be for use when you are of pensionable age.

    It is not a savings account.

    You can not access it until you are 55 at the earliest and then you can only have 25% as cash.

    You can transfer it into another pension at any time. so if you join another employer's pension scheme it may be worth transferring it into that.
    (AKA HRH_MUngo)
    Member #10 of £2 savers club
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  • RichandJ
    RichandJ Posts: 1,087 Forumite
    If it's a pension you cannot touch it until age 55 - this is the law. It used to be 50 but that changed on 6th April this year. The only legal way pensions can now be paid before 55 are certain schemes with a guaranteed early retirement age (eg certain sports) or if you are going to die within a year.
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  • Emily1975
    Emily1975 Posts: 75 Forumite
    But it's my money! It doesn't seem reasonable to me that I can't access it. What if I needed it in an emergency...

    OK, maybe I could take a cheaper holiday or something but what if there was some work needed doing on the house, or I needed some expensive medical procedures? Would that be sufficient reasoning for Norwich Union to give me access?
  • Sparx
    Sparx Posts: 909 Forumite
    First Anniversary Combo Breaker
    Emily1975 wrote: »
    But it's my money! It doesn't seem reasonable to me that I can't access it. What if I needed it in an emergency...

    OK, maybe I could take a cheaper holiday or something but what if there was some work needed doing on the house, or I needed some expensive medical procedures? Would that be sufficient reasoning for Norwich Union to give me access?

    Like it has already been said, it is not a Savings account for you to access as you please and take money from.. No matter what the reason is, you will not be able to take a penny from it.

    It is not an emergency fundings account.
  • sandsy
    sandsy Posts: 1,719 Forumite
    Name Dropper First Anniversary First Post
    Emily1975 wrote: »
    But it's my money! It doesn't seem reasonable to me that I can't access it.

    You agreed to the terms and conditions when you joined your previous employer's pension scheme. There's no way to get your hands on any of the money until you're at least 55.
  • hugheskevi
    hugheskevi Posts: 3,838 Forumite
    First Anniversary Name Dropper First Post Car Insurance Carver!
    You can't touch it till you retire

    The terms 55, retire, State Pension age, Normal Retirement/Pension age, etc, all have very specific techincal meanings where pensions are concerned.

    Using them interchangably can cause confusion amongst those who are not familiar with the terminology.
    Can anyone else confirm?

    To help you with research, I've linked all the threads in August about 'can I cash my pension in' below...

    http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.php?t=2674671

    http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.php?t=2671207

    http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.php?t=2665877

    http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.php?t=65068

    http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.php?t=2644881

    http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.php?t=2639295
  • dzug1
    dzug1 Posts: 13,535 Forumite
    First Post Combo Breaker
    Emily1975 wrote: »
    But it's my money! It doesn't seem reasonable to me that I can't access it. What if I needed it in an emergency...

    OK, maybe I could take a cheaper holiday or something but what if there was some work needed doing on the house, or I needed some expensive medical procedures? Would that be sufficient reasoning for Norwich Union to give me access?


    The only reasoning sufficient for Norwich Union to release the money to you now would be the government changing the law so that it would no longer be illegal for them to do so.

    And it's not 'your money' - it's held in trust for you but it doesn't belong to you directly.
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