Cash out one of my pensions

Sea_Shell

Not to mention the loss of potential investment growth of the pension if left alone.

cloud_dog

movilla said:

Hi,

I'm approaching 55 soon and I'm considering cashing out one of my pensions. What with various jobs I've got 4 pensions with varying amounts in them. I have credit card debt which is going down slowly but will probably take around 2 years to completely get to zero. So I'm thinking about cashing out one of them to pay off the credit cards. I'm a higher rate tax payer. Is there any views on this? I intend to then transfer my remaining pensions into just pot.

Thanks.

Is the debt manageable?  Is the debt all on 0% interest CC?  Will you have the capacity to continue (for a few years) to switch the debt on to newer 0% interest CC?

If the above can be accommodated then I would suggest you make every endeavour to free up income so as to reduce the debt as quickly as possible whilst leaving your pensions alone.

movilla

cloud_dog said:

Is the debt manageable?  Is the debt all on 0% interest CC?  Will you have the capacity to continue (for a few years) to switch the debt on to newer 0% interest CC?

Total debt is around 22K. I am overpaying each month on all cards by around £750 above interest costs so target for complete payoff is 2.5 years, not allowing for unforseen circumstances. I haven't considered moving to a 0% interest CC. I always thought those kind of deals were something to avoid.

movilla

xylophone said:

Are all these pensions DC pensions?  Do any of them have safeguarded benefits?

What is your current pension arrangement?

What is the total amount of the debt? What interest rate are you paying on it?

Do you have a spouse/dependants?

You earn a good salary - is it possible to live frugally for a time and pay down the credit cards over six months say?

One large pension is a personal one I started in the 90s. The other one is my current job which I dont pay into it but the company pays a fair amount. I'm unsure about safeguarded benefits. Total debt is £22K of which this is over 3 CC charging fairly standard interest. Nothing extreme. My focus is on the biggest card but still overpaying on all 3. Total overpay (allowing for interest charges) is £750 per month. 1 wife. I am not living frugally but not splashing out either.

eskbanker

movilla said:
I haven't considered moving to a 0% interest CC. I always thought those kind of deals were something to avoid.

You thought that paying interest on your debt was better than not paying interest on it?!

movilla

I dont want any more credit cards nor do I want to apply in case I get rejected.

garmeg

Please do not cash in your pension for these credit card debts. Future you, in 20 years time, may hate you for it.

xylophone

Total debt is £22K of which this is over 3 CC charging fairly standard interest.

I dont want any more credit cards nor do I want to apply in case I get rejected.

Try here just to get an idea of what might be available before applying?

https://www.comparethemarket.com/credit-cards/balance-transfer/?SRC=EA85&TrackerID=43700051766500950&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIrYy4nuLr6wIVi-7tCh1WVwioEAAYAyAAEgKdWvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds

https://credit-cards-eligibility.comparethemarket.com/?AFFCLIE=EA85&wip=5f61055a7f5f8b000105ad4c