Benefits + pension?

sharper9

Hello

Hope someone can help or point me in the right direction

I am disabled and married.
Currently receiving.
DLA high rate mobility and care
Incapacity benefit
Carer’s allowance (wife)
Coucil tax and housing benefits.

My wife and I have been paying into two private pensions for the past 20 years or so, even after I was unable to work. These payments have become too much of a financial burden. So we are now looking to stop these payments and maybe take a lump sum from these pensions, but we are not sure of the best and most efficient way of doing this without losing some or all of our benefits?
The money will be used for much needed home maintenance and replacing an ageing car.
The rough cash sums involved could be around £5k and £20k.
Thanks in advance for any help or guidance given.

sleepless_saver

How old are you both?

sharper9

sleepless_saver wrote: »

How old are you both?

My wife is 55 and I'm 58.

thanks

McKneff

You are entitled to take 25% lump sums from the pensions and either buy an annuity or leave the rest to grow for when you need a pension.


It is better to see an IFA and use an open market option, they have access to companies that the general public do not.

As you are disabled dont forget to mention all this as well as smoking if you do and you will be entitled to an enhanced rate.

Are these money purchase pensions, company pensions, final salary pensions.

I got a really good pension with Just Retirement but they only deal with IFAs

Good luck with it all.

Dont forget also, some, not all of your benefits could be affected if you take a pension.

sharper9

McKneff wrote: »

You are entitled to take 25% lump sums from the pensions and either buy an annuity or leave the rest to grow for when you need a pension.


It is better to see an IFA and use an open market option, they have access to companies that the general public do not.

As you are disabled dont forget to mention all this as well as smoking if you do and you will be entitled to an enhanced rate.

Are these money purchase pensions, company pensions, final salary pensions.

I got a really good pension with Just Retirement but they only deal with IFAs

Good luck with it all.

Dont forget also, some, not all of your benefits could be affected if you take a pension.

Its the effect on benefits that is the main issue. In relation to the most financially efficient way forward.

sleepless_saver

Are the £5k and £20k the total value of your pension funds or the value of the 25% you can take as a lump sum?

sharper9

sleepless_saver wrote: »

Are the £5k and £20k the total value of your pension funds or the value of the 25% you can take as a lump sum?

They are the 25%'s

The rest of the larger pot will stay as life cover for me to benefit 'The Mrs'.
The smaller one will just keep us in biscuits for the foreseeable future. In other words its not worth very much on a annual basis.

xylophone

Why not make an appointment to see a benefits adviser at the CAB? He/she would be able to go through the sums with you.

Oldernotwiser

Do you have any other savings?

sharper9

Oldernotwiser wrote: »

Do you have any other savings?

Around £4.5k

tom9980

sharper9 wrote: »

Hello

Hope someone can help or point me in the right direction

I am disabled and married.
Currently receiving.
DLA high rate mobility and care
Incapacity benefit
Carer’s allowance (wife)
Coucil tax and housing benefits.

My wife and I have been paying into two private pensions for the past 20 years or so, even after I was unable to work. These payments have become too much of a financial burden. So we are now looking to stop these payments and maybe take a lump sum from these pensions, but we are not sure of the best and most efficient way of doing this without losing some or all of our benefits?
The money will be used for much needed home maintenance and replacing an ageing car.
The rough cash sums involved could be around £5k and £20k.
Thanks in advance for any help or guidance given.

Given everything you have told us you could look into the motability scheme and forgo the higher rate mobility payments in favor of the car upgrade. You could then use the 4.5k of savings for the house maintenance, no point having it sit there if you have to maintain your home to a suitable standard. http://www.motability.co.uk/main.cfm

I do not think you should touch the pension lump sums unless you feel you are likely to depart us in the near future, surely you can just stop contributing to the scheme and then claim it when you are 65 or whatever age you both need to be to claim it? you can then use the money you save from not paying into the pension pot on the car or home maintenance.