Now I'm 50 what can I get free or discounts on

teedy23

ioscorpio wrote:

Fabulous, I can't wait til I've got all sorts wrong with me that I need repeat prescriptions

I turned 50 and have got a skint heel:eek: Is this the beginning of the end

FannyHill

I remember a few years ago in Florida I went into a fast food place for breakfast.I ordered a breakfast special and coffee. The price above the counter said $3.99 for the breakfast special and 75c for the coffee and I ordered that. The young guy on the counter was about 16. Anyway he put the stuff on the tray, said some price and I gave him a ten dollar bill and got my change, walked to a seat with my tray and sat down. I looked at the receipt he'd given and it seemed he'd made a mistake.I looked again.
It should have cost $4.74 plus tax but the receipt said Seniors breakfast $1.99 and Seniors coffee 25c plus tax.
I was 45 at the time.
I didn't know whether to laugh or cry.

djohn2002uk

FannyHill wrote:

I remember a few years ago in Florida I went into a fast food place for breakfast.I ordered a breakfast special and coffee. The price above the counter said $3.99 for the breakfast special and 75c for the coffee and I ordered that. The young guy on the counter was about 16. Anyway he put the stuff on the tray, said some price and I gave him a ten dollar bill and got my change, walked to a seat with my tray and sat down. I looked at the receipt he'd given and it seemed he'd made a mistake.I looked again.
It should have cost $4.74 plus tax but the receipt said Seniors breakfast $1.99 and Seniors coffee 25c plus tax.
I was 45 at the time.
I didn't know whether to laugh or cry.

Well that made me laugh anyway....:rotfl:

buxtonrabbitgreen

superscotsman wrote:

More aches and pains, you get more forgetful, you get a bald head, your hair - what's left of it - goes grey, and when people hurl insults at you they usually stick in the adjective "old."

Yes and I seem to have gone from having 'blonde moments' to 'senior moments' how did that happen?

EdInvestor

One thing you can do at 50 is take 25% of your pension fund out in tax free cash. The rest can be left invested to grow, no need to take an income.

After 2010, you will have to be 55 to do that.

pro_bono

Ed,
I have been wondering about this, after getting to 50. Is it easily something that I can do, or do I need a IFA's assistance?

EdInvestor

Is it easily something that I can do, or do I need a IFA's assistance?

It's not hard - you don't necessarily need an IFA ( and it's usually cheaper if you don't have one :rolleyes: ) . What you have to do is to "take benefits" from the pension, and move it to a SIPP ( a self invested pension scheme).The SIPP provider will then pay out the TFC.You then invest the money in funds/shares whatever in the SIPP.

Later on, you can draw an income from the fund if you want to, it's not necessary to buy an annuity any more.But you don't have to take an income, you can just leave the money invested until you need it.

It's best to use the discount SIPPs as they have lower charges and access to the best funds IMHO. eg

https://www.h-l.co.uk
https://www.sippdeal.co.uk
https://www.alliancetrust.co.uk

Which one to choose depends mainly on what you want to invest the money in.

You can't move "protected rights" (Serps) pensions into SIPPs yet, so if you pension has got some PR money in it, you would have to split the fund and leave the PR money behind at the lifeco.

But the procedure is quite straightforward. Just one caveat: check that your pension doesn't have any Guaranteed Annuity Rate attached to it.These can be quite valuable, and you would lose it if you moved the pension.

pro_bono

Ed,
Thanks for that. Sorry but the thanks button seems to have moved?
I have the choice of three frozen pensions to choose from and will proably choose the lower quantity of the three (Scottish Widows £29k) to release some funds. (I just wish to have control of some of it repay mortgage etc...)

EdInvestor

I just wish to have control of some of it repay mortgage etc...

I'm sure you're not alone, especially with all the endowment shortfalls.If the pension's in With profits make sure you check on the GAR situation.It may still be good to move it if you have one, of course.

If you can get the remaining money into some good funds, you'll be amazed at how well it does compared with before

chickalittle

pro_bono wrote:

Ed,
I have been wondering about this, after getting to 50. Is it easily something that I can do, or do I need a IFA's assistance?

On the back of info I read on this board under the pensions section, I did exactly this. It really was easy with the SIPP provider pretty much doing it all on my behalf and there was no need to use an IFA. I transferred 2 smaller pension pots over to a SIPP and took my 25% TFLS ( got that last week - yippee) and am now in the process of deciding on my investments for the balance.