Triviality pension

col553

I have a pension pot of £ 18128 and looking to take 25% tax free and lump sum less tax, instead of a small pension. I am 60 in March and on long term sick with no chance of returning to work. I know it is over the £18k limit but was wondering if there are any options open to me.
Can anyone offer any advice please

jayjay2910

to the best of my knowledge im afraid not, as you are over the 18k threshold. the only option is to take the penison and 25% tax free cash lump sum, the rest would then be out as a pension. not aware of anyway round this. if you are on long term sick you may want to look at an enhanced annuitiy due to your ill health, as this could mean depending on your condition you may get a higher pension for a shorter period.

if you have a finanical adviser seek their advise and they can shop round for the best annuity rate for you, if you dont have one then use one of the many comparison website to see what the best annuity rate is(this will determine how much pension you get) or seek independant finanical advise.

im currently working for a well know life and pension firm and im going by our guidelines, and at the end of the day the best advice would be too seek professional advice

col553

If i moved my pension to another company would they charge me for doing this and if so would their charges come out of my pension pot.

jayjay2910

most companys do not charge you for transfers but it is best to check with your provider and the type of pension you have too see if they do make a charge. usually just a quick call to the customer service team will be able to set you straight.

also how recent is your valuation? as values can change daily, and you might now be under the trivailty threshold

col553

My last statement was 31/03/2011. My pension is wth profits from Pearl

SailorSam

I have an almost exact figure as you Op split between two different pensions, it was suggested to me last year that if i could change and 'lose' some money in charges but when i asked another company they said charges weren't normally taken.
I think the only answer maybe for us to watch the figures and get out quick if it falls.

jayjay2910

might be worth ringing pearl and getting an upto date valuation to see the amount you now have

SippTechie

Bit of a palaver, and you need to find pension providers who are happy to do this, but there is nothing in the pension rules which prevents you from doing a partial transfer of up to £2,000 to another pension scheme and commuting that under the new rules which allow individual pots of up to £2,000 to be commuted.

You will then be left with a pot of less than £18,000 (depending on your current valuation) which can then be commuted under the longer standing triviality rules.

You can commute a maximum of two individual pots of £2,000 so can theoretically access your whole fund if it is worth less than £22,000.

Not suggesting this is a good idea, just confirming that it can be done.

col553

Thanks for all the info, I will look into it and hopefully it will work out for me.