Can I use my pension to pay back debt

cosco

Sorry if this has been discussed before but I would like to know if I can use my pension savings to pay back debt?

I'm 30 and have around 40k of pensions saved so dar. Could I use half of this money to pay back debt? (I don't believe I can unlock my pension savings at my age, but thought I would double check to see if anyone knows if it is possible or not)

Kevie192

Nope, pensions are a very specific investment with government imposed regulation on ages.

The earliest you could get your hands on some of the cash is 55, unless in cases of serious ill health. Even then you'll only be able to get 25% of it as a lump sum, with the rest being used to purchase an annuity (income in retirement).

Kevin

Triggles

I'm not sure if you can or not, but would you really want to? To be brutally honest, a lot of us that have gotten into debt did so at least in part because of bad habits. Obviously, I don't know your history, but what if you use it to pay off your debts, and then in 3-5 years find yourself right back in the same position again? Then you're right back where you started, older, and with half your pension.

Are there other options you can explore?

johncarlton

Kevie192 wrote: »

Nope, pensions are a very specific investment with government imposed regulation on ages.

The earliest you could get your hands on some of the cash is 55, unless in cases of serious ill health. Even then you'll only be able to get 25% of it as a lump sum, with the rest being used to purchase an annuity (income in retirement).

Kevin

Kevin is 100% accurate! You are not able to touch your pension until your retirement age, and even then only a small percentage of it!

If you are facing serious debt issues you do have options - a debt management plan, IVA, Bankruptcy or a debt relief order.

How much do you owe?

Happytogetdebtfree

You can remove all cash from a pension if it is less that two years old that is the case with mine after that it is only obtainable at retirementy x