Pensions, annuities & retirement planning

Dear diary and all, I am starting this diary as a record of my first year in retirement. OH and I both officially retire at the end of August, at the moment we are on annual leave until then. There is quite a lot of advice about the financial planning aspects approaching retirement, but I have found less about the reality…

I know the State pension receives no increases for lots of countries if you leave the uk, but when does this actually occur. I'm currently 54, thinking of moving to such a country, and believe it is only at the time of claiming that the entitlement is frozen. So between now and age 67, even if living in said country, my…

Not sure this is the right forum section: I will soon have a windfall of £100k (after tax) and considering my options on how best to invest/use it.My main goal is to retire as soon as possible and (although late) trying to make stops towards this.Background: I'm 38yo, currently have:- £88K in Pension- £113K in Stocks and…

On 4th September 2024 I requested a value for my deferred pension. I chased this request on 6 occasions and sent emails to my MP to chase. I had been told that the delay was because they were verifying if I was entitled to any Widows Pension. My wife died in 2022 so they had already had 2 years to investigate. I eventually…

Hi, does anyone have any experience of a company called PCD Wealth & Pensions Management? Thanks

The old age pension is due to increase next year with the new state pension due to go above the £12500 tax free allowance to over £13000. This means that if the government keep their word that people receiving the New state pension will in effect have their tax free allowance increased by over £500 . However people like my…

Hello,.can anyone help. I was retire from the Civil Service in June 2021 on medical grounds. There is suppose to a 5 year review process built into it, but ive heard nothing yet. Although I obtained a copy of the review form in late 2021 which for where i live is completed by GP, I am concerned about going through it. Has…

Some help please, I've received a quote through with regards to the above named Scheme, the benefits are due for payment from age 63, but can be taken at 60. It gives annual pension amount and then pension commencement lump some amount, there is nothing to say if i can opt out of taking the lump sum and have that as annual…

As regulars on this forum will know, I am trying to retire early while working part time, with a current salary of about £21.5K. Five years ago (after the loss of a loved one) I started to take my life and my finances a bit more seriously. I was 43 at the time, with a combined pension and ISA of £73.5k. I decided to make…

I intend to make a large, final contribution to a SIPP before reversing the cashflow direction and taking taxable income, triggering the Money-Purchase Annual Allowance in the same tax year. How do I notify HMRC of the single, large pension contribution, to ensure that my tax code for pension withdrawals will be correct?

What do you think annuity rates are going to do over the next year or so? Best to buy tomorrow or wait a few months? Backstory - I'm a couple of years off retirement age, single, no dependants and am close to pushing the button on a lifetime annuity at around 6% with a 3% escalation. Reasoning is to give me certainty of…

I would like to create a topic (don't see it at the moment - other than the NUMBER thread). Who is aiming for early retirement (or who has retired early already)? When did you begin planning and what drove the decision? What is the strategy for getting there? How much of a relative decline in income are you prepared to…

Just received my annual statement for a frozen final salary pension. The projection has gone down by £600 per annum which came as a surprise as I didn't think this type of pension could go down. Any advice?

I've decided to withdraw all of mine, and do a bit of recycling, well below the allowable limit, to take full advantage of the £268K allowance in case it's reduced, which I fear it will be. Doesn't take too long to use the money sensibly, pay off mortgage, ISAs, a bit of pension recycling, investment in growth shares (sell…

Hi apologies if this is covered elsewhere. My wife is 56 and has a small SIPP (~£100K). She would like to start taking a regular £800 per month from her SIPP but does not want a tax free lump sum. Is this possible to do and how does this work with a drawdown or is this option only available via a UFPLS? We got a bit…

A general question for any views on how the tax personal allowance will move, change, morf or be treated from April 2031? As I understand it the personal allowance has been been frozen since April 2021, them got an extension and currently it may unfreeze April 2031, that's an amazing 10 years. Reason I'm so keen for any…

Question How do I figure out the best way to get the highest guaranteed income for retirement while paying the least amount of tax? Situation • My Setup: I have enough cash saved to cover my living costs for the next 10 years (currently in savings account). The rest of my money is invested in a medium-risk investment…

Hi, does anyone have access to historical FTSE Russell index data, possibly through LSEG/Refinitiv, Bloomberg or Morningstar Direct? I'm looking for the FTSE UK Private Investor Ultra Growth Index — Total Return (GBP) index level on: 9 May 2022 30 December 2022 These are required for a pension redress calculation. It is…

Hello, I've got an active workplace pension with SW. Thinking of a partial transfer to another provider (to ii for this first partial transfer). To start with, I asked SW whether partial transfers are allowed (as opposed to a full value transfer only). And I got the e-mail reply below with a pdf "Declaration of Claim…

Hello everyone and thanks for having me on board! My query is, on the 19th June I received a letter from a certain pension company asking for a response to help pay the benefits. The letter concerned my ex, now deceased husband. They told me the amount, and also that tax is now payable. They actually confirmed that he held…