Should I take my pension before Brexit

Obuasi55

I have a pension with Aegon worth around £15000 it is invested in a fund name SE UNIVERSAL2020. My optimum year for drawing it down was next tax year for tax purposes. Is it likely to go down after Brexit and should I draw it this tax year.

ProDave

The optimum time to have converted it to cash was likely last summer.

Quite by accident, as part of a transfer process, mine was converted to cash last March. I nearly re invested it then but was twitchy. It is still sitting in cash at the same value, had I invested in a typical FTSE100 tacker for instance it would now be down about 18%

Obuasi55

Thanks. I am not intending to invest but to fund my retirement for two years before my state pention kicks in. If I take the pension this tax year I shall have more tax to pay than next year. But if it goes down I may loose out. Is Brexit likely to hit the amount it is worth at the moment?

p00hsticks

Margaret_Chapman wrote: »

Thanks. I am not intending to invest but to fund my retirement for two years before my state pention kicks in. If I take the pension this tax year I shall have more tax to pay than next year. But if it goes down I may loose out. Is Brexit likely to hit the amount it is worth at the moment?

Can you not simply sell the funds but delay withdrawing the pension ?

Linton

As your pension is invested in a 2020 lifestyle fund its holding in UK shares may be low. From Bestinvest data the core fund is 55% UK equity but life styling means that a significant amount of the core fund has been replaced by cash. However I cannot find any information on the net as to what %, perhaps it is in your documentation. This is the key factor - if the equity has already been largely replaced by cash there is no good reason to withdraw earlier than you would otherwise want.



Other factors:
- the markets have already priced in the likely BREXIT scenarios.
- a poor BREXIT outcome helps UK shares in that the £ would be hit but most of the major UK companies will be effectively priced in $s as they trade on a world market.
- your main short term BREXIT investment risk is that BREXIT is cancelled which may significantly temporarily increase the value of the £ and so decrease the value in £s of foreign investments.

Obuasi55

Thanks poohsticks I shall ask the question. I don't know if that is an option.

Albermarle

Is it likely to go down after Brexit and should I draw it this tax year.

Brexit may have a positive or negative effect for reasons already explained .
It is almost impossible to second guess market movements with any degree of certainty. Apart from Brexit there are many other things in the world going on at the same time that could also affect stock markets.
So just stick to your original plan and with hindsight you might wish you had done otherwise or glad you did it that way .