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Withdraw from sipp to fund ISA?
Irrespective of possible budget changes.. I have a decent DB which gets me close to 40% tax bracket and also have a 6 figure sipp in drawdown. My spending means I don’t have spare to continue to fund ISA so have been mulling over gradually withdrawing from sipp at 40% and putting into ISA. I don’t really need the money…
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USS - 2025 valuation of DB?
Hi there. I have a USS pension. I’m no longer an active member and my last contributions were at the end of December 2024. I have a DB and a DC element in the scheme. Normally the DB amount is updated every year and is dated 31st March each year. This tends to happen in September and a statement is also added at this time.…
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Pre-April 5 2025 Voluntary NI pension Topups
Hello everyone and thanks for having me on this site. I wish to share a query with people who registered with the DWP to top up their NI contributions since 2006 before the April 5 2025 deadline. I have just received an extensive email from DWP outlining the contributions I have to make. Fortunately I can make these…
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What happens if you straddle pension age increase?
On 6th April 28 minimum pension age increases to 57. My DOB is Oct 71. If I start accessing a DC pension from Oct 26 (age 55) can I continue? Or on 6th April 28 (age 56) will there be limits on how I can access my pension? What are the guidelines? I'm thinking I would be able to access crystallised funds in a drawdown…
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State pension calculation and HMRC calculator
Hi, This is mostly idle curiosity, but I'm hoping someone here can help me understand the basis for the UK state pension calculation. When I go to the HMRC state pension calculator it tells me "Forecast if you contribute another 2 years before 5 April 2042 £230.25 a week". I'd qualify in 2042 based on current law (I'm 50).…
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MyCSP, Capita and retirement modeller
Hi everyone, my wife and I (59 and 61 respectively) are both civil servants looking to take early retirement next May, but now I’m starting to get worried about they delays being caused by the MyCSP strikes and the proposed transfer to Capita. We’ll have another 5 years to wait before my State Pension kicks in, and we have…
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How to understand SIPP statement
This is the most 101 question ever and I actually feel embarrassed asking it. When my quarterly SIPP statement gives projections for what the fund could be worth at retirement, would anyone who knows about this stuff be able to tell me will that be for just the fund as it stands at the statement date, excluding future…
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Looking for help with advice for my parents
Hello. I hope I can get some input here on some advice to give my parents. For some background my mother is retiring next year at 65, my dad is 70 next year but plans to continue working for now (he’s on a 0 hour contract job and brings in around £10,000 per year from that). He works as and when he wants, which suits him.…
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Civil Service Pension Savings Statement
I've just received my 2025 pension Savings Statement - I've spent many hoours working out what this should be , at least approximately - I have some in Classic (PCSPS) and some in alpha. The answer I was NOT expecting was that both should show Pension Input Amounts of £0.00 I'm obviously quite happy if they are both right…
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Claiming a pension for a child over 18
My dad died recently whilst still working, he had paid into a LGPS. I have received forms from them needing further details, on the form it explains that in some cases a small pension can be paid to any children over 18 for numerous reasons but for our situation “if a person is incapacitated by ill-health which arose…
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USS or Civil Service Alpha?
Hi all, Currently looking at a role which offers a USS pension. I am currently a civil servant and pay into the Alpha scheme. In the past, I was under the assumption that USS was a very good pension but, reading into it, it doesn't look all that great compared to the Alpha scheme. I believe USS has a contribution rate of…
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With Profit Annuities
I was thinking of crystallising the funds I have in excess of LTA and using these proceeds to buy a with profits annuity. Amount is circa £150k after £50k LTA charge. I am struggling to find a list of providers for this somewhat niche product - I can only seem to find Prudential as a provider. Are there any others? How…
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"Small Pot" benefits question
A question I have on 'Small Pot" pensions. I have just handed my notice in at work (3 months notice). At the same time they have transferred to a new scheme provider. So if I do nothing, and don't combine the two pensions I will likely end up with a fund at retirement of less than £10k, so a "small pot" I think there are…
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NEST Pensions
My partner works for charity and they use NEST as their pension provider. She is 57 and has possibly 10 more years to retirement. They currently don't allow pension sacrifice but they will be in the near future. He hourly wage isn't great but is it above the living wage so i have advised her to max out her pension by…
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Paying into pension whilst on benefits
Hi, New here. Please can someone tell me if there are any limits to how much I can pay into my private pension whilst unemployed and receiving benefits? Many thanks
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Drawdown time and going forward
I've recently reached state pension age and am now receiving the state pension. I have also put my pension account into drawdown to give myself a decent monthly sum to live on. The assets in my fund are split between equities, mixed assets and cash. I feel the need to review my holdings at this point to ensure that I'm all…
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SIPP drawdown and contribution timings
Hi. I'm unclear about the best order of events and looking for a sanity check please! HL SIPP balance is c.£7,400 in cash, eligible for drawdown later this month. No contribution for 2025-26 has been made yet. Would it be best to drawdown £7,350 ASAP, leaving a balance of just £50 to keep the account open (I believe £50 is…
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Platform allowing management of crystallised and u crystallised pots
Any suggestions for a platform that allows sensible management of crystallised and u crystallised pots as separate entities? My current plan was to use separate platforms and I have tried to transfer crystallised only from II to Charles Stanley but currently neither platform can actually tell me if this has happened as…
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Winding up lump sum offer
Age: 63. Self employed with SIPP. Pension from previous employer from 6/4/1980 to 31/01/1986 as a student on summer placements. Deferred benefit: £522.84 per annum. From 1/4/2027, not available before then? Received a letter from the administrators to offer a winding up lump sum of £7107, of which 25% or £1776 is tax free.…
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Avoiding higher rate tax
I would like to check my understanding of tax and pensions using a real life example: Simon receives £50,000 of pension income each year (£26K p.a. DB and £2K p.c.m. drawdown of DC).This brings him very close to the 40% tax threshold.He has already triggered the MPAA. Simon has potential to earn up to £10,000 per year…
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Most recent: Voluntary National Insurance contributions by pinnks
15 January at 11:27PM
