taking pension before 65, help please.. 29 August 2010 at 10:29PM edited 30 November -1 at 1:00AM in Pensions, Annuities & Retirement Planning 3 replies 1.6K views

kezcon

Hey guys I have just been made redundant, and I need all the cash I can get till I can get a job again, I'm 27 years old and in my pension I have around 3k. But Scottish Widows said I cannot take it out until I am 65.

I was wondering if I swapped companies with my pension I mean transfer it, and then before the 14 to 28day cooling off period with the new company I cancel the pension, would they send me a cheque or would it get converted back to SW?

I know I sound desperate but I wanna make sure I budget right whilst not working, I know later on in the future I might be poor, but I am in my parents will so it wont be that bad hehe.

p00hsticks

kezcon wrote: »

I'm 27 years old and in my pension I have around 3k. But Scottish Widows said I cannot take it out until I am 65.

I think that unless they change the rules again you should be able to get your pension at 55, not 65, but that's not much help to oyu I'm afraid ... how long have you been paying into it ? If it's less than two years I have a feeling that you might be able to cash it in, but if it's longer then I don't think there's much you can do....

jem16

p00hsticks wrote: »

If it's less than two years I have a feeling that you might be able to cash it in, but if it's longer then I don't think there's much you can do....

That only applies to some final salary schemes not money purchase schemes.

OP cannot get access to this money until age 55 - transfering and cancelling won't work either.

SandC

Agree with the others, it's going to be 55 before you can get your hands on that. With pensions, just forget what you have in your 'pot' until you retire because it's for that purpose and nothing else.

Not sure how old your parents are kezcon but even if they are retired already they could always spend everything they've got or need to use it for nursing homes etc. If they are younger parents, in their fifties maybe - well it could be 30 years or more until they pass away.

Don't rely on inheritance to fund your later years, in many cases you could already be retirement age yourself before that happens and lo and behold they leave it all to YOUR children instead.