Can I cash in my pension?

Bimbly

Rasputin247 said:

I have an anuity in payment im informed I cannot cash it in by my pension company. I'm in ill health mentally & physically which can be proven by my doctor. I'm 77 is there any way possible for me to cash it in. My pot is worth approx 18k can anyone offer any help? 

You have posted at the end of a very long thread from 2011. To get the best help with your question, you should start your own thread.

The short answer is that what you have been told is correct.

dunstonh

Rasputin247 said:

I have an anuity in payment im informed I cannot cash it in by my pension company. I'm in ill health mentally & physically which can be proven by my doctor. I'm 77 is there any way possible for me to cash it in. My pot is worth approx 18k can anyone offer any help? 

No.  Annuities are cast in stone once bought.  Neither side can renege on the terms.     
If you have a lifetime annuity from a pension plan that once held 18k then there is no longer 18k.     You bought the lifetime annuity with that 18k.    You no longer have a pension.

molerat

If you have an annuity in payment you no longer have a pot, you sold it to buy the annuity.  Annuities work on the some you win some you lose principle, those that lose pay for the winners.

Malthusian

Rasputin247 said:

I have an anuity in payment im informed I cannot cash it in by my pension company. I'm in ill health mentally & physically which can be proven by my doctor. I'm 77 is there any way possible for me to cash it in. My pot is worth approx 18k can anyone offer any help? 

Duplicate of this thread.

Acromion

I am 70, and wish to cash in a £40,000 pension pot with a legacy provider. A GAR (about 10% currently) is attached, and therefore ( I am instructed) it is mandatory that I confirm I have sought advice from a financial advisor before I am allowed to proceed.

I am in the fortunate position of having, separately, an index linked pension plus other savings. This pot is not crucial to funding my ongoing lifestyle. I recognise that I will have to pay 40% tax on the £30,000 left after deduction of the tax free 25%, but the £28,000 remaining will not tip me over the  £100,000 pa event horizon, nor, at this stage, any issues with the LTA.

How much might I reasonably expect to pay for the advice required to unlock this money?

xylophone

https://www.mandg.com/pru/adviser/en-gb/insights-events/insights-library/pension-transfers-conversions

Guaranteed Annuity Rates

There is one significant exception to the requirement for a pension transfer specialist, and it is where the advice is on conversions or transfers in respect of pension policies with a guaranteed annuity rate (GAR).

Although GARs are safeguarded benefits, the FCA do not  require these cases to be checked by a pension transfer specialist and as such advice can be provided by an adviser with investment advice permission. This is because an adviser with the investment advice permission, but not the pension transfer and opt out permission, must still prominently highlight the value of the GAR to their client (the firm still needs to hold transfer permissions). The adviser should do this as part of the suitability assessment report for their client.

With regard to advice, you might try below - tick "confirmed independent" and "pension transfer".

You could then explain your circumstances and check cost of advice.

https://adviserbook.co.uk/

dunstonh

I am in the fortunate position of having, separately, an index linked pension plus other savings. This pot is not crucial to funding my ongoing lifestyle. I recognise that I will have to pay 40% tax on the £30,000 left after deduction of the tax free 25%, but the £28,000 remaining will not tip me over the  £100,000 pa event horizon, nor, at this stage, any issues with the LTA.

Why would you want to give up a 10% GAR?

How much might I reasonably expect to pay for the advice required to unlock this money?

Hardest job is going to be finding an IFA to do it.   Many are going to baulk at the idea of giving up a 10% GAR to take it under UFPLS.    For 4 years (possibly 5) you could take the income and roll £3600 gross back into a pension and get tax relief.   (then use spouse, if there is a younger one -  or indeed, use the spouse to balance pension provision up if you were to die first).

Then when you cant use the pension wrapper any more, you can place it in an S&S ISA 

If you are set on taking it under UFPLS, then many IFAs are going to refuse or price themselves high to act as a passive blocker.  However, if you do, I would expect it to be in the region of £1000 or more.   This is in part because the transaction is one that needs to be reported on PI insurance renewals for the advice firm forever more.   And that means the advice firm will be paying for that increased liability for as long as they exist.   

Acromion

Many thanks for that insight dunstonh. I had failed to appreciate the significance of the GAR on this occasion, because 5 years ago I cashed in an UFPLS of similar magnitude but without a GAR and it all went through on the nod sans advice.

it sounds as though I’ll have to distrain on alternative assets to come up with the money to fund our modest building refurbishment.