Pensions, annuities & retirement planning

Archives for September 2010

Civil Service Pension refund
Can somebody please help make this clearer... I worked for the DWP for sixteen years and in 2008 took a early severence. I was told my Classic Pension scheme was frozen until I reached Pension age. So far so good. Six months after this date I was recruited under fair and open competition as a fixed term appointment member…
Pensions 'savings credit'
Please can someone explain in simple terms what this means. I understand that it is a form of bonus for having saved for retirement by means of personal pension to put along side your state pension. Confused as i believe not everyone receives it?
When is it the right time to take a pension?
Does one draw on a personal pension at 60 if you don’t really need the money? I put the fund into cash just before the recession in 2007 and it hasn’t lost money but isn’t making any. With annuity rates falling do I take it now and hope I live long enough to get a fair bit back off it? Or try and invest it again to make…
Starting a SIPP
Hi 1st post go easy :) I have been private investing for a while and have decided I would like to move some of my older pensions into a SIPP. I have around 30k of plans that are with Standard Life that are no longer recieving contributions that I would like to start with. I've done some research and am thinking i'll go…
SIPP tax relief question
Hello, This is my first post here, although I have gladly benefited for a while from all the information on this site and the forums! My question is as follows: I'm 29 and started a SIPP in June of this year. I kicked it off with a lump sum of £6,000. After about 8 weeks, the SIPP provider added £1,500 to my pot due to tax…
Financial Advisor HUGE Commission????
I have recently signed up for a pension, I am still within the 30 day cancellation period and I am very nearly doing so due to the size of commission that the Financial Advisor is getting. Basically I'm paying a meagre sum of £200 a month and I gave him a cheque for £4k - He gets £1700+ for the regular contribution and…
Withdraw the money v have an annuity
Under the coalition's new pension proposals, if you can show that you have a minimum of other financial resources you can withdraw from your pension like a savings account instead getting an annuity. What would you do ?
Will writing question
Hi all, I usually post on the forums for the credit cards and loans sections but I have a question about will writing and I cant seem to find the right section. So hopefully can someone help. I have done a Will online through http://www.wills.org.uk/ it has all been signed and witnessed by people and it is in a storage…
Pension plan vs Savings
Can some kind person please tell me if there is any difference between paying into a personal pension plan or whether it would be the same as paying into a regular savings account?
Morrisons Pension Scheme
My son is about to be offered a job at Morrison's (Supermarket) on a contract of 16 hours pw. He knows there is a Pension scheme, but as yet knows nothing about it. Does anyone have any information? (Although of course he will join it anyway as he has nothing at the moment).
2012 pension
Will i be able to redirect my 1% earnings and 2% employers contributions into my private SIPP rather than the new NEST pension? Also, are companies able to contract out as well as employees?
Investec SIPP - no fees / 2.57% interest
I've been looking into this SIPP from Investec. They have replied saying there are no charges for opening the account and no annual fee. Does anyone have a SIPP with Investec? Is there something I am missing as it seems a very good deal? We are looking to move our pension with £26,000 in it and the cash account fits our…
Early pension release.
Hi everyone, new to the board. Apologies as you may be sick of this question. I am 47 and have two company pension schemes of which I paid into roughly seven years each but have since left both so no longer pay into. Is there any way at my age that they can be released ? Many thanks in advance.
Nearly 40, time to sort my pensions out!
Hi guys, Currently looking to arrange my pensions out properly as I have several old schemes etc I no longer pay into and am wondering what my options are. So far I have:- Personal Pension Plan with Aviva, no longer paid into, cant even remember when it was started, transfer value of £2500 Personal pension Plan with Aviva,…
Holiday While on Pension credit
Hello, After taking volunteer retirment, my dad is receiving pension credit since Jan 2010. He has holiday home in outside uk. he was planning to go down there for around 3-4 months but someone told him that he can not stay outside uk more them 12 weeks. is this true? how do they work it out. does the holiday start from…
Divorce and voluntary pension sharing problem..
I wonder if anyone can help me. My ex wife and I have managed to divorce without using lawyers. The final obstacle is to share 50-50, my pension. I've asked the pension fund manager to simply transfer half my pension fund over to my ex's pension fund. ( Conveniently she has had her own pension fund with the same company…
Lump Sum investment
I've recently inherited £60k and am considering investing it a pension plan. As a high rate tax payer I want to do this to get the tax relief on top of my initial investment. I've only around 10 yrs to retirement and want to take absolute minimum risk with this lump sum so I've been thinking about Cash/Index Link/Bond type…
Sipp Pension Recommendations
Being the owner of a small company I need to take out a Sipp pension and am wondering where the best place for impartial recommendations would be?
Drawdown Charges
Hi, I have just retired and had three illustrations from my IFA for an annuity a drawdown and hybrid. They are from three different companies I note that on the annuity and the hybrid the company pays the IFA commission, but on the drawdown the commission comes out of the core investment. Is this normal? Axel
Equity ISA or Stakeholder pension
My 18 yr old has just started work and will be joining his company's pension scheme where he and his employers will contribute 3% each. I think he needs to have an additional scheme and thought an additional 7-9% of his salary should go into a stakeholder pension as the government contributes 20% on top of his contribution…

★ ★ ★ Meet your Ambassadors

MSE News

Sainsbury's shopper? Check if you can get an easy Nectar points boost with its limited new offer
If you have a Nectar card, you may be able to earn a few quid's worth of extra points this month, as Sainsbury's is running a limited new promotion for millions of shoppers.
Bank of England holds base rate at 5.25% again – but with a cut now on the horizon, what does it mean for your mortgage and savings?
The Bank of England has held the base rate at 5.25% for the sixth time in a row. But there are now stronger signs that a rate cut might be coming soon – which could have a knock on impact on mortgage and savings rates.
Bank of England holds base rate at 5.25% again – but with a cut now on the horizon, what does it mean for your mortgage and savings?
The Bank of England has held the base rate at 5.25% for the sixth time in a row. Here's what it means for your mortgage and savings.
FREE Creams Café gelato scoop (normally £2.50)
If you're after a sweet treat , we're cone-fident we have just the the scoop for you...
Bank of England holds base rate at 5.25% for the sixth time in a row – here's what it means for your savings and mortgage
The Bank of England has held the base rate at 5.25% for the sixth time in a row. Here's what it means for your mortgage and savings.
Parents in England expected to contribute up to £15,000 a year towards children's university living costs, new report finds
Parents and carers in England have to contribute up to £15,127 a year in order for their children to have a minimum acceptable standard of living at university, according to a major new report.
TSB to close 36 branches in 2024/25 – here's the full list, plus alternatives
We list the branches disappearing and what the alternatives are if you still want face-to-face banking.
FREE Creams Café gelato scoop
If you're after a sweet treat , we're cone-fident we have just the the scoop for you...
Santander to cut rate on popular 5.2% easy-access savings account on 20 May – should you switch now?
Santander is cutting the rate on its popular easy-access savings account from 5.2% to 4.2% on Monday 20 May. But you can easily beat the new 4.2% rate by switching elsewhere.

View All

Pensions, annuities & retirement planning

Discussion List

Get our FREE Weekly email full of deals & guides - and it’s spam-free