Private pension new access age ??

dessie360

I have read that the access age for private pensions is going up from age 55 to 57 years old in 2028, to mirror the increase in state pension age. I am currently 45 (as of Nov 2017) so I will turn 55 in Nov 2027. This suggests I'd be able to access my private pension at this time since the new ruling hasn't come into effect. However, the following year, the access will be 57 and I will only bee 55/56, depending on which month of the year we're talking about.

Does anyone know where I'll stand on this? Will I be able to get my 55 access as it currently stands? Or is it likely to be more complicated than that?

I am kinda retired but with an eye on some tight budgeting that I've done and steady investment projections so an 2 additional years on current liquidity could have a big impact.

p00hsticks

Although this was proposed in one of George Osborne's budgets, I don't believe any legislation to this effect has gone through Parliament as yet.

dessie360

Ahhhh, ok! Thank you for that. Revisiting the articles on this topic just now, yes, it seems the media are indeed choosing their words carefully - eg, "expected rise..." etc. I guess I'll wait and see. Hope they give out some clarity soon, especially regarding the stepped nature of any changes.

PeacefulWaters

I'd assume some element of phasing for people close to the magic number.

It might also be a reason to stick a year or two of retirement planning contributions (by that I mean income) in a stocks and shares ISA if you want out at 55.

hugheskevi

[FONT=&quot]Under the Coalition govt back in July 2014, HM Treasury announced in a [/FONT][FONT=&quot]response to a consultation[/FONT][FONT=&quot] that minimum pension age would be linked to state pension age minus 10 years. It was stated that the change would be legislated for at a later date, which still has not happened.

The consultation stated that the change would apply from when the State Pension age reached 67 in 2028. However, the lack of legislation means many details are left unanswered. The key outstanding questions are:[/FONT]

• [FONT=&quot]Does the current government (which being a Conservative minority is a completely different government to that which made the decision to increase minimum pension age) intend to enact the policy change announced in the Coalition consultation response? As well as being a completely different government there are now many different priorities.[/FONT]
• [FONT=&quot]If the change is legislated for, will the shorter time to the change taking effect mean the delay is put back to give people adequate notice to change their plans?[/FONT]
• [FONT=&quot]Will the increase be a cliff-edge in 2028, or will the increase be tapered in, eg, starting in 2024, aligning with state pension age in 2026 and then tracking with the state pension age increase to 67 by 2028. In the [/FONT][FONT=&quot]original consultation[/FONT][FONT=&quot] it was stated "The transition to this age will need to begin before 2028 and the government will provide further detail on this in its summary of responses to
  this consultation" However, there was no mention of this in the consultation response.[/FONT]
• [FONT=&quot]Will protection be given, as it was when minimum pension age last increased in 2010, for those with existing pension arrangements at a particular date?[/FONT]

dessie360

Thanks for that excellent detail. Sounds like I need to keep a close tab on future progress. I'm sure I could stretch it out a couple of years. If the re-evaluate and push it up to 60 then that might be a whole different problem.