Help with AVC

SandLake

I have been paying into a small AVC for almost 25 years and the selected retirement date (quite an arbitrary date) is my 55th birthday next month. There was a plan many moons ago for that to be the case but reality hit and it will be another 5 or so years.
The AVC was taken out with Equity and Law now Friends Life. The last statement I got in October gave a plan value of 19k but a transfer value of 36k - I'm not really sure why there is such a difference, is it something to do with bonuses? I expect the final value to be the 36k or thereabouts.

As I have just been made redundant and will have no income in the next financial year I intend to draw it all down (tax-free and no-tax free) - will Friends Life simply allow me to do that or make me jump through hoops?

Thanks

kindlefirebabe

I am no expert, but I have just been checking the new website https://www.Pensionwise.gov.uk This suggests that you should be able to take a tax free lump sum of 25% of the value and then draw the rest subject to tax.

If I were you, and as you say you will have no income in the next financial year, I would wait until the new tax year before drawing the taxable part of the fund as you will presumably have already used up your tax allowance for this tax year, so the full 75% balance would be subject to tax. Whereas in 2015/16, you will be entitled to £10,600 personal tax allowance. So the first £10,600, although subject to tax, will not be taxed.