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Pensions, annuities & retirement planning

Archives for March 2005

Stakeholder choices
Hi Everybody, What do you think of a Stakeholder with Prudential vs. Standard vs. Legal&General. Would going with a discount broker lioke Cavendish be a lot cheaper than direct? Thanks, Pat
standard life payout
can anyone advise please, i have two standard life policies, both part with profits. first is stakeholder pension in my name, second is joint named endowment with mrs bockster, my name being first on the policy. thing is, they say that with joint policies, only the first named is a member. so i am a member twice but only…
Increasing NHS SuperAnnuation Contributions
Hi to you all. I've searched for advice here and generally on the web but have not been able to find anything directly relevant. Maybe some of the knowledgeable posters here could help. My wife works part-time in admin in the NHS and hopes to return to work full time in the next few years. At the moment she contributes to…
Some pension advice needed please.
When I was 28 I started a personal pension plan which, due to the stock market dip, is currently worth around £45K. I also opted out of SERPS at the same time. I have another small pension pot from my in-between employer of £3K and my current scheme is worth about £6K, I now pay £110 per month from salary and my employer…
Equitable Life
I have a with profits pension with Equitable and it can be taken at the end of May. If I take it will I lose any rights to future compensation (should there be any) HELP! I don't know whether to take and run or leave it
AVCs from 2006
Just been reading about changes to the pension rules, and it appears that from April 2006 I'll be able to place 100% of my salary in my pension scheme. Now as it happens I could afford to do this, for a year or two, as I have a relatively high level of savings. (I currently have a final salary scheme plus AVCs (separately…
Pension help!!
My partner needs some help from somebody with a bit of experitse in this area. He has been paying into a pension for the past 5 1/2 years now and is thinking of a career change for a couple of reasons. 1, Drastic change in working conditions/times of work etc. 2, There is also news of voluntary redundancies in the near…
Stakeholder Personal Contributions
Apologies if this has been covered before, but... I'm confused as to the maximum I can put into my employer provided stakeholder scheme. I'm aware that everyone can pay in £2808 net of tax relief and that, depending on age, this figure may be exceeded by an age related percentage. I've been on the https://www.opas.gov.uk…
SIPPS - own choice or IFA ?
My dilemma is can you administer your own SIPP ? I am thinking about taking out a SIPP and I believe that I am quite financially savvy (I work for an investment consultancy group). The thing is should I go through an IFA or by myself ? What are the pros and cons ? I have gone to an IFA for advice but he wouldn’t budge on…
Skandia Pension…
Is it normal for pension funds to charge an initial investment charge of 5% ? That is what Skandia have quoted me plus the AMC. What really annoys me is the charges 9AMC or TER0 for external funds are not in the fund list so how do I now what the chargers are! http://www.skandia.co.uk/funds/our_fund_ranges.asp Read this…
LGPS - Advice re Top ups
Dear All, Advice would be gratefully appreciated. I have seen the previous thread re the above. My position is that pre 2005 I will have circa 26 years protected service, and 14 years at risk if I leave aged 60 rather than 65. Based on my current salary I would lose 1/3rd of my post 2005 service pension value and at…
Tax on pensions
My husband has taken a pension from his last employer, as he was within their early retirement age bracket and his job was being transferred to another firm. It's only a couple of hundred £ a month, but he took it in case the pension scheme folded up before he reaches 65 and he lost the lot. He is continuing to work for…
Stakeholders & Discount Brokers???
Advice Needed? I am thinking of getting a Legal & General Stakeholder pension through Cavendish Online (a discount broker recommended on this site). They offer an application form online but its unclear what steps I need to take to apply for the stakeholder scheme in such a way as to get the commissions fee discount from…
Stakeholder - Investment fund choice
I've been researching various stakeholder pension providers for a while now and have now chosen a provider. I'm now not sure which investment funds to invest in and would be grateful for some info. I plan to put away £234 a month and at the moment am planning to retire in 35-40 years' time. As I'm starting in my 20's I…
Stakeholder Pensions - Opinions?
Hi Fellow Pensioners-to-be Could someone give me an honest unbiased opinion of which Stakeholder pensions they would be most interested in investing in. I am considering Wesleyan, NFU Mutual, and Legal & General. NFU Mutual Properties has performed in the top five for returns over the past 10 years (according to a study by…
LGPS Amendments - Should I Leave?
Hi there I am looking for some advice on the new regulations that mean I will have to work to 65 if I dont want to get a reduction in my pension! I am 34 years old and have 10 years in The Local Government Pension Scheme pre the new regulations starting in April and I am considering freezing this pension and starting a…
Pensions vs Savings
Crossing 2 topics here but is a pension still better than any savings account in the long term? My pension has seen a investment rate of only 0.5%, so obviously this is far lower than the savings accounts of today. I have not been able to pay into my pension or any savings account for years but are trying to free up some…
Would you bet on it?
The DWP want to know if I want to top up my national insurance with voluntary contributions. It's worth doing on the basis of the pension sum as it is now, but would you trust the government to maintain the value of the state pension for the next 20-30 years? :)
Think before you leap
OK, I'm pretty stupid, but is there anything I can do about this situation? I had a private pension scheme with my last employer, and I'd been contributing for over 13 years. I left that job and my final annual pension income would have been £6.2K at the time I stopped paying into it. I got another job and was sent some…
Tax Relief on SSP/SERPS
Morning all Is further tax relief available to higher rate tax payers on the minimum contribution rebate made by the DSS? The payment that is made into the approved scheme includes a tax rebate, calculated on the employee share of the contribution, at the basic tax rate. Any ideas?

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MSE News

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Pensions, annuities & retirement planning

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