pensions advice

mgdavid

hazelh wrote: »

OK think I gather from all of this that if you are already in drawdown, you just need to instruct the SIPP provider with the drawdown you want.

my take is if you are already in DD you don't have to do anything. Although if you are in capped DD at the limit and want to increase your cash extraction then you need to request to go into flexi-DD after April 6th and then instruct the provider how much and when.

hazelh

Thank you for that. Yes I am in capped drawdown at the moment and plan to revise my figure after April.

gadgetmind

Dunnit wrote: »

the number taking out annuities without doing any comparison; and the number not taking impaired life annuities; it will be a giant step forward.

Stupid people have always done stupid things and will continue to do so. All of this information is available online now, but people don't bother engaging their brains and reading it, and I'm sure a trip to the CAB will be deep into CBA territory.

However, I'm hope that I'm wrong as my greatest fear is that so many idiots foul things up that the flexibility is reversed and handcuffs are applied to everyone, even those who are perfectly capable of running things optimally.

SnowMan

hazelh wrote: »

With the changes coming in in APril, when are we able to use the advice services mentioned along the way. I do not have an IFA at the moment ( for a few reasons) and am currently in drawdown.

The guidance service is due to start in April. Because of the short timescales it is hard to predict how ready providers will be to provide the guidance service.

I haven't seen any precise definition of who can use the service, but I expect it will be available to anybody over age 55 who is interested in their retirement options.

Anybody over age 55 contacting their provider about retirement options under their pension will be signposted to the service. But that doesn't mean it will be restricted to those who have not yet taken their benefits.

For example somebody currently in capped drawdown will have the option from April to take larger lump sums from their pension or even take the whole lot as cash. So denying that person access to the guidance would be just silly.

You will be able to access telephone guidance through TPAS or face to face guidance via a local Citizens Advice Bureau. There will be some scope to flip between advice channels. There is going to be a central number I think but don't know how precisely that will work. I am sure there will be some publicity around April time.

I hope you are able to access the guidance service and find it useful.

Linton

SnowMan wrote: »

.......

For example somebody currently in capped drawdown will have the option from April to take larger lump sums from their pension or even take the whole lot as cash. So denying that person access to the guidance would be just silly.

........

Yes, but how much useful can be said without straying into "advice"? Will the guidance just consist of telling people that they can do it and how to? Will the guidance people have to spend much of their time biting their tongues when they hear some of the frightening things that the customers are thinking of doing.

Dunnit

gadgetmind wrote: »

Stupid people have always done stupid things and will continue to do so. All of this information is available online now, but people don't bother engaging their brains and reading it, and I'm sure a trip to the CAB will be deep into CBA territory.

However, I'm hope that I'm wrong as my greatest fear is that so many idiots foul things up that the flexibility is reversed and handcuffs are applied to everyone, even those who are perfectly capable of running things optimally.

In this day and age we are in information overload. How many people read and digest their emails never mind the other detritis (how many people read the conditions when they upgrade their phone OS).
There are undoubtedly people out there who will have more opportunities to waste their money but a good many will benefit from being able to sit down and give time to a very important decision.
I am quite sure that we could come up with the basis of the discussion on here without breaking sweat. The starting point would be do you know how much your pensions are, how much your ongoing outgoings are and how do you intend to fund that until an unspecified date in the future. Forcing people to do that would appear to be a great deal better than the statistics show for what is happening now.