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DB Pension take lump sum or not?
My wife has an old DB pension.She has been offered a couple of options at the moment which are Full pension £12270pa or reduced pension of £9250 pa plus lump sum of £61560. She still has 8 years before she collects her state pension ,I'm already getting my state pension and have some small pensions which I will look into…
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"Average Earnings Growth" and triple lock
The triple lock is based on the "Average Earnings Growth" figure for July 2025 (released in August 2025) and the CPI for September 2025. Does anyone know what the "Average Earnings Growth" figure is for this July? I'm finding it very difficult to track down and find out if it's the figure including bonses or not.
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Three Old Pensions, what to do with them?
Hello, Sorry if this has been asked several times before, I am slightly overwhelmed with a lot of information that I don't understand. I currently have three 'old' pensions from previous employers that are not doing a lot. They haven't had any contributions into them for over a decade, and have been sat there with very low…
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Should I contribute more to my SIPP?
I'm in a fortunate position. I earn c£60 gross, and can expect c£20k in savings interest this year. I have a SIPP of £35k (so far) and will have a significant DB pension too. I would rather avoid paying c£8k of tax on savings interest, as well as potentially staying below the 40% tax threshold. Everything I can get into…
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Pension drawdown and tax; now or later?
I am in receipt of the state pension, but have a pension fund that needs a decision. I will I draw out the 25% as cash and put it into savings or ISA. If there is little tax free entitlement left, am I better taking it and putting it into a savings account; 4.5% seems available, and pay the 20% tax now, or get an fixed…
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Old Pensions, Advice Please
Hi, I have 3 old pensions with a single provider that are connected and I am not allowed to separate or add to. I currently am looking to draw down about half the balance which obviously I am not allowed to do. My query is, should I transfer all the funds to another pension and then draw down just what I need? Or Should I…
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Quick sense check for my brother's fire service pension options
Hi My brother is being made ill health retired at 49 from the fire service (bad back) - below is snapshot of benefit options. It looks pretty clear to me which option he should take, but just want to check that there's only one real sensible option…. I believe he has a choice of being in Legacy or Reformed Benefits plan:…
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Should I start to empty my SIPP
I have just over 500k in my sipp. I'm 63 next April. No debts, kids, mortgage, don't go on holidays and don't really spend on anything apart from household bills.No plans for spending in the future. I have a ltd company with no other directors or employees. I stopped taking a wage last year. I already have 35 yrs NI…
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Bridge at 60 alongside Alpha DB Pension: SIPP vs ISA vs Mortgage?
Hi all, I'm looking for a sanity check on my long-term retirement plan before pulling the trigger. My wife and I are both late 30s/early 40s, with a young teenager. We're both full-time public sector workers with Alpha pensions (Defined Benefit) which we've paid into for more than 15 years. We earn around £97k gross per…
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P45 after getting lump sum in drawdown
Hello I recently got a lump sum from a retirement investment account. They sent me a P45 with the payment. I am currently working. do I need to hand this P45 in to my employer?
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Letters after transfer to nhs scheme
It's a long story. Joined nhs late 1980s but didn't join nhs pension. Took out private pension early 1990s. Joined nhs pension scheme mid 1990s. The private pension went under a review and found to be missold so it purchased a certain number of years of nhs pension. That went through nov 1997. On going through paperwork,…
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Finding a pension - endless dead ends
I worked at a prison for a couple of years, and I have payslips that show I was paying into a pension during that time. Part way through the employment the contract was taken over by a new company. I have two employee record numbers for this time. The first employer has now gone, they were taken over by another company. I…
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NEST Flexi access drawdown
I read that nest is rolling out flex access drawdown and that once done you will be able to take 25% of pot tax free - anybody know when this is likely to be available?
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planning for death is expensive!
My basic plan looks fine - stress tested for 2% real returns and monte carlo etc. But if one of us dies (specifically me as the most impactful) - my DB gets cut in half, and we lose one state pension (after 67 - prior to that we have life insurance still in place). Before, almost all funds were covered by guaranteed…
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A guide to the UK Pensions System from the PPI
The Pensions Policy Institute have released their latest guide to the UK Pension System. It is up to date to 1st June 2026. https://www.pensionspolicyinstitute.org.uk/research-library/pensions-primer/ It is aimed they say at anyone wanting to better understand the UK pensions system, including policymakers and Government…
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Pension overwhelmed
I am 56 hoping to retire at 60, very big chance of redundancy then if not year earlier. This would be 95k payout and my plan would be to take the 30k tax free and put balance into pension. I know not a guarantee but if it happens this is plan. I have one final salary which offers 11500 per year with tax free £75k which is…
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Work place pension
Hello all I have just been auto enroled onto my works pension with "Nest" There sight says they invest in businesses which obviously means when I get to retire I may have lost money (I know it can go up or down BUT!) I don't know what to do as nobody in work seems to be able to tell me any detail atall. I am currently 63…
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Annuity and Part Time Work
G’day folks, Is this the only way? I need 4k net a month. My boss has asked me to go part time reducing my pay to 40k a year. This is based on 18.75 hours a week. I have just turned 55 and find the thought quite appealing. He needs a headcount reduction and is asking all the old timers if they can go part time to prevent…
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year before retirement - how did you get your ducks in a row?
not there yet, few years off. But wondering about practicalities. How did you get yourself sorted so hopefully day one of retirement was pretty smooth? eg pension applications/payouts may take some time, so how early do you start getting that lined up? did you try and get different income sources timed to arrive fairly…
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localpensionspartnership.org.uk - Who are they?
I have received an email from the lppa (as they call themselves), but am unsure whether they are an independent organisation regarding my previous local government contracts, or a private company looking to invest such in their interest (I have had brown envelopes with "official" letters about my pension previously from a…
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Most recent: Delays for P55 tax refund fro… by dobbers
2 September at 2:34PM
