Cashing In Pension

mat1603

I am 28 years old and have had a pension with natwest for 10 years which has a balance of @£5000.
I am not paying into the pension anymore and would like to somehow withdraw the balance.
Is there any way legaly or illegaly of withdrawing my money?
Are there any loopholes such as moving the money to somebody elses pension who is over 65?
Moving to another country and transfering the balance to a forigen account?
Transfering to a sipp and using it from there?
etc etc
Any help would be appricated as i feel this money has been wasted.
thank you

clear_blu

At 28 I cannot think of any legal way that you can 'Cash' in your pension. As far as illegal ways I doubt that you would get any help on this site, although it is dedicated to saving money, I am sure that it would not either break the law or encourage anyone else to do so.

firesidemaid

hello

by no means am i an expert on pensions - but i would have imagined that 10 years in a pension with someone like natwest would be worth something/keeping?

are you an employee of nat west or is this a private personal pension?

it also depends on how much you have been paying in (or your employer).

is the £5000 your amount paid in or the current valuation?:wave: :wave:

dunstonh

You cant touch it. You can move it around but you cannot withdraw it.

Any help would be appricated as i feel this money has been wasted.

Short term view isnt it? State pension is £4381 a year. Fancy living on just that?

Cook_County

You can transfer to a country where you move if you transfer to a QROPS and the foreign country permits withdrawals as a lump sum ... This was possible before 6 April 2006 but I am not aware that it can be done any longer now that we the QROPS regime in place (http://www.pensionsadvisoryservice.org.uk/pension_rights/overseas_transfers/)

mat1603

The £5000 is the amount i have to transfer etc.
Its a personal pension.
I dont need the pension as i am moving abroad.
Is there any way of using the money if i transfer it to a sipp (if i can transfer it to a sipp)?

lisyloo

I dont need the pension as i am moving abroad.

I don't understand this statement.
Why do you not need an income (money to live on) in retirement in a foreign country?
If this is true, please tell me which country this is as I would like to consider living there if I don't need any money :-))

Is there any way of using the money if i transfer it to a sipp

Basically NO.
There are only 3 ways to get money out of a pension.
1) Retire (and there are age limits for this)
2) Die (beneficiaries get the money)
3) If you have a terminal illness with less than 1 year to live (certified by more than 1 doctor).

When you start a pension the government give you valuable tax relief.
The governement helps you with this saving on the basis that you will be providing your own income and not relying on state benefits.

Pensions are not flexible.
They are long term savings that you CANNOT cash in.

dunstonh

Is there any way of using the money if i transfer it to a sipp (if i can transfer it to a sipp)?

No.

Once you are in the pension, its in the pension. The Govt dont give tax relief and allow people to access the money early. The funds are not lost though as it is an investment. Plus there are arrangements with a number of countries where you could investigate transferring it to their equivalent "if" it is the best thing to do for you.