Release pension cash

MSE_Amy

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Release Pension Cash guide.

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marieltroake

I wish I hadn't been conned into doing this!!! I have lost £14k of my pension pot in a year! Just logged a fraud case, but I doubt I will see any of my money again. If I can' t move my last £6.4K, I will have lost the whole of my £20.5k pension pot :-(

SarahK_3

I've read up a fair bit about pension unlocking, but there are still a few points I'm unclear about. Are there any legit options at all to people under the age of 55? Somewhere I remember reading that cases of financial hardship were looked at. I realise all the downsides to releasing the funds early, but just wanted to make sure I had the full picture

dunstonh

Are there any legit options at all to people under the age of 55?

No. Plus, that would not be unlocking.

Somewhere I remember reading that cases of financial hardship were looked at.

No they are not.

Ex_GE_worker

If the pension scheme rules allow, you can take your pension before 55. I took my GE pension at 50 as I now work for another company. (I pay in to my new employers scheme now)

RichandJ

Ex_GE_worker wrote: »

If the pension scheme rules allow, you can take your pension before 55. I took my GE pension at 50 as I now work for another company. (I pay in to my new employers scheme now)

That was because you either:

a) had a protected retirement age;

b) took it before 6/4/10, or;

c) took it on ill health grounds.

Working for someone else is irrelevant.

Ex_GE_worker

As I stated, my GE rules allowed this. Other people must also be in this position.
I was pointing out that being under 55 does not absolutely prevent taking a pension

mania112

One cannot say that you are allowed to take a pension pre-55, because those that can are in existing company schemes only.

The theory being, I suppose, that those that can take benefits early already know and we don't want to confuse the 95% others that have to wait to 55.

The main pre-55 caveat we should make folks aware of is terminal/severe illness and that will almost always be at the discretion of the trustees.

dunstonh

Ex_GE_worker wrote: »

As I stated, my GE rules allowed this. Other people must also be in this position.
I was pointing out that being under 55 does not absolutely prevent taking a pension

A small minority of cases have a protected scheme age. So whilst you are correct in your case and worth a note for those with protected scheme ages, it really is a very small number and it shouldnt confuse or give false hope to others.

Ex_GE_worker

Having just spent 5 hours reading the other forum posts, I realise how lucky I am!
(The GE pension trustees were happy to get my pension dealt with rather than have it as a future liability to the fund)

jamesd

SarahK wrote: »

Are there any legit options at all to people under the age of 55?

Yes:

1. Some pension schemes have preserved younger ages.
2. Some schemes for particular jobs like athletes can have much younger ages than usual as special cases.
3. If you are diagnosed as likely to die within a year you can normally take the whole pension pot as a lump sum.
4. If you are believed to be medically unable to work for the remainder of your normal working age it may be possible to take a severe ill health pension income and usual lump sum.