Pensions Is there a loophole?

loz2381

Hi,

Like most people at the moment I am feeling the pinch ofthe credit situation. To make matters worse I haven't been smart with my money and have run up a bit of debt.
I have an old pension fund from my old company which has about 2k in the fund. It would be a great help to me to be able to use this money now rather than in 40 years time.
Is anyone aware of any loopholes which will allow me to get my money out of this fund so I can use it to pay off my debts?
This money could be the difference between keeping my house and having to sell it, it can't wait until i have retired.

If anyone could help or offer advice that would be great.

Thanks

dunstonh

Like most people at the moment I am feeling the pinch ofthe credit situation.

Most people I speak with aren't feeling the pinch. They feel they ought to be given the media coverage but they are not. Of course, some are but I'm not sure its most.

Is anyone aware of any loopholes which will allow me to get my money out of this fund so I can use it to pay off my debts?

No. The Govt gives tax advantages to pension funds for yourself and your employer (at the time). The compromise is that the pensions are held until at least age 50 (rising to 55 from 2010). Even then you can only accesss 25%. To get access to the 100% you would have to be over 60 and have a trivial amount in pensions.