Obtaining pension before 55

jimfitz81

Hi Guys,

Im after a bit of help. I've read through the various threads but cant really find a definitive answer.

Me and a colleague both have pension schemes worth about £20k each with our previous employers, Centrica (we were both British Gas engineers). We are now self employed and have our own heating and plumbing firm that is doing pretty well. Im 36 and my parter is 34.

We would like to be able to withdraw our pension money but after speaking to Centrica, they said we could take a lump sum at 55, a monthly amount at retiring age or transfer to a totally different pension scheme of my choosing.

Looking through the various posts on here, it seems like there are companies that let you take your pension sooner but it could be massively risky.

So i guess my question is, can i take my pension money early. Is there some other scheme that i can transfer the pension money over to that will allow me to withdraw it?

Any help would be massively appreciated.

:beer:

westv

DO NOT trust ANYBODY who offers to get your pension before 55.

jimfitz81

westv wrote: »

DO NOT trust ANYBODY who offers to get your pension before 55.

So from your reply, am i to assume its pretty much impossible to take out pension money early?

p00hsticks

jimfitz81 wrote: »

So from your reply, am i to assume its pretty much impossible to take out pension money early?

yes, you can't do it

Linton

Yes, the conditions where you could get your pension early
1) Your profession has a special status because it is age limited - eg professional footballer
2) You have an old pension with an early retirement date in the contract
3) You are seriously ill and expected to die in the fairly short term

Any of these fit? Otherwise bad luck.

dunstonh

Looking through the various posts on here, it seems like there are companies that let you take your pension sooner but it could be massively risky.

1 - its fraud.
2 - you end up with a delayed tax bill of 55% of the pension value (often after the company that scammed you took around 35% in fees).

jimfitz81

Ok, that all seems pretty straight forward. Thanks guys.

AnotherJoe

jimfitz81 wrote: »

So i guess my question is, can i take my pension money early. Is there some other scheme that i can transfer the pension money over to that will allow me to withdraw it?

Only a "scheme" run by scammers. There have been a few posters here asking how to get their money back /avoid the huge tax bill that's more than the amount they got out.

atush

it seems like there are companies that let you take your pension sooner but it could be massively risky.

As D says, someone will do it for you (for a hefty fee) but given it is illegal, you cant really.

AS a side note, this is a FS/DB pension. Nothing you can do with t he money will approach the benefits you will get at normal retirement age (unless you put it all on black and win)