Pensions, annuities & retirement planning

Archives for May 2015

Salary sacrifice last 3 years unused contributions
Hopefully this will be my last question relating to S/S, but can someone please confirm if I have this right? OH pension contributions over last 3 tax years; 2012/13 Limit 50K: unused pension contribution allowance of £46,709.25 2013/14 Limit 50K: unused pension contribution allowance of £46,883.14 2014/15 Limit 40K:…
AVC and new pension changes
I have an AVC which I have contributed to for 20 plus years it is now worth around £30,000 and when the new changes were announced I thought, GREAT I would be able to take small lump sums over the next few years. It would be better than an annuity and I could avoid the hit of paying 40% tax when added to my pension. But…
Wealth at Work retirement advice
Hi. Does anyone have experience of the company Wealth at Work? I have been to a retirement seminar they ran for BT and subsequently had a chat with an advisor. But how good is their ongoing advice/performance once their expertise with the BT pension scheme is used up? The core advice was to trade off DB pension against tax…
Closing a SIPP
I was poorly advised two years ago to open a SIPP and invest in alternative investments. It now looks like I will lose most of my investment due to a possible scam. I am 55 in two years time, will I be able to take what is left of the SIPP and close it? It certainly will not have enough monies to provide a pension, maybe 2…
LGPS APC - any thoughts please?
I am nearly 58 so can retire in 2017 at 60 though may stick out another 2 years max. I currently have almost 35 years’ service and am a basic rate tax payer. I opened a AVC last year and am putting in £1000 gross pm, to take as a 100% tax free sum. However I am wondering if an APC might be a better option (assuming I don’t…
I've been overcharged by my Pension provider - HELP !!!
Hi all I have a Private Pension (SIPP) with an Insurance Company which is now just over 5 years old, after I switched from another type of Pension - I had to use a Financial Advisor to do the switch, but it enabled me to take £39k tax free just over 5 years ago when i was 50 just prior to the change in minimum age to 55.…
401k's
I have a 401k which was part of a QDRO after my divorce. I am a dual Nationality British/American, living in the UK. I want to know how I can take it out and bring it to the UK so I can buy a house. Does anyone know of any financial companies over here who deal with this type of thing??? I did contact the pension company…
Is my tax rebate correct?
Hi all, I just received a tax rebate from HMRC following a lump sum pension payment I made in March 2015. If I go over the figures below could someone tell me if it's correct? This is what it states in the letter from HMRC; Total PAYE income - £55,134 Tax paid - £11,677 Personal Allowance - £10,000 Income tax chargable on…
MPS Rip-off
My Mineworkers' Pension Scheme have let me know that, due to an administrative calculation error they have reduced my retirement pension by £11 per week! I took out my pension based on the original calculation and now find myself struggling to manage on £572 less per year! Are MPS allowed to do this, when it was their…
Early 'retirement'
My husband has recently been made redundant. He is 56. We are currently in the midst of a major building project on our house so we decided he would not look for work but will project manage the construction, doing a lot of the work himself. I earn enough for us to live on so income is not a problem but i am just concerned…
Should I Put More In My SIPP?
Jointly my wife and I have £150K in ISAs, I have £150K in my SIPP, and a further £400K in a normal share dealing account (diversified funds) and a £500K BTL property with a £200K mortgage. Our house is worth about £500K and mortgage free. We have adequate emergency fund savings and no debt. No other pensions apart from the…
Pension Fund - FL Stewardship International
Does anyone know how to decipher the pension fund report. I am confused by the contradictory information. Take for example the FL Stewardship International fund from Friends Provident: factsheets.financialexpress.net/FRLE/LCG8.PDF It's quartile ranking range between 1-2, and it performs better than it's sector. Over the…
Queens Speech
Sounds like more chipping away.... Maybe more caps on contributions, LTA or Employers NIC rebate??? http://citywire.co.uk/money/queens-speech-hits-pensions/a817219?re=34316&ea=299459&utm_source=BulkEmail_Money_Daily_Summary&utm_medium=BulkEmail_Money_Daily_Summary&utm_campaign=BulkEmail_Money_Daily_Summary
Calculator, suggested figures
I'm trying to set up a spreadsheet for pension calculation and drawdown as I'm looking to retire in 12 years time when I'm 64 For my pension growth until I retire I'm using 6% / yr and then 2.5% inflation, real growth 4%, is this reasonable? I'm basing my drawdown until I'm 90. For pension drawdown I'm using 3% growth…
Charges too high on Self Employed Pension?
Anyone able to give some advice. I spoke with a FA and got an illustration on a self employed pension. The Illustration appears to point out that i won't make back what i put in? It then goes on to say Is this just usual illustration speak, or am i getting into a bad investment? Thanks in advance for any suggestions.
Drawdown advice - ifa or self?
I will be 60 in July and (in addition to a small military pension) have a pot of 176k. I don't want an annuity and with other savings offering such low interest rates, don't need the taxfree cash immediately. I intend putting the whole pot into a flexible drawdown. Obviously annual charges and fund performance make a…
How bizarre!!
Just reading through the pensions board and the phone rings. Hello says a bright chatty woman, I'm phoning from First Pensions Review. I told her my pensions are fine and put the phone down. Anyone heard of them? Just so people know, telephone number was from Derby-01332 426342.
Trivial release catch 22
I am 60 and recently retired with a DB pension and I am not thinking of adding to this. My problem though is that I also have a pot of just under £5000 from a defined contribution scheme which the provider has said that I can only transfer to another provider who will allow me to take the cash as a lump sum on which tax…
Baffled by WP Funds
I have pension investments in With profit Funds with Aegon(personal pension) and Standard Life(transfer policy). The Standard Life policy has a NRD of 65 and a penalty if I transfer out of about 20%. I understand this - it helps to protect the fund and fellow members from a rash of selling, it seems sensible. The Aegon…
LGPS - did I misunderstand?
Hi, I've been on the LGPS for about 9 months but sent a request to leave last month (the next couple days will be my first pay without). Reading the document it seemed like some money laundering scheme to me and when I asked out pension people as well as the actual scheme providers (both by email and phone) they had no…

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