Thanks everyone! (I'm almost retired)

cfw1994

shinytop said:

randompenitent said:

garmeg said:

Also if his DC pension has increased by 20% from £840k then that would be all the LTA used up just on that.

May as well crystallise the lot and take the small DB early as well.

I'm within about £10K of the LTA today, so you're correct that I would consume (almost) all of the LTA if I crystallised today. 

It's definitely worth looking at how LTA is applied to DB pensions.  I was right at LTA overall and I concluded I'd be better taking the DB first and slightly early to make sure sure it did not get hit.  With DB, if you are over, I believe any LTA tax applies when you take it but with DC you can mess around with crystallisations and income put it off to some extent till the BCE at 75. 

Agreed...I’ve made sure there is enough “space” in the LTA for my two smallish DB schemes to be able to start without triggering it....& if I get snagged by any in my main DC pot, so be it.....as has been said a couple of times here, it is a first world luxury problem to have.

SMcGill

randompenitent said:

Hang on. 

I’m a deferred USS member with service from 1987 to 1997, so does this mean I can take my pension at 60? Really? 

Yup. Like TcnpT said, it’s not explicit in any of their web information. In fact even the IFA info sheet I linked only says that pre-2011 pension can be taken without ERF from age 63.5. 

It wasn’t until I made a specific enquiry about retiring at 60 that USS wrote back and said the NPA was 60 for pre-2011 pension. Of course if most of your service was post-2011 then the ERF for that portion might outweigh the gain in starting your pension at 60, but even for me with around a 50/50 split across the two periods I am much better off. 

randompenitent

Prompted by @TcpnT and @SMcGill I did some digging into my old USS paperwork.
In the "Ceasing employment at a USS Institution - Your Pension Choices" (August 1997), p.11 has the following:

"You have the right to bring all your deferred benefits into payment at or after age 60 subject to a reduction, if appropriate, as described below. Between age 50 and 60 payment will be at the discretion of the Trustee Company.

• Benefits in respect of service before 17th May 1990 will be subject to a reduction if they come into payment before age 65 (men) and 60 (women).
• Benefits in respect of service between 17th May 1990 and 31st March 1995 will be payable without reduction if the whole pension becomes payable at or after age 60.
• Benefits in respect of service from 1st April 1995 will be payable without reduction if retirement is on or after you attain age 63 1/2." 

Since my service was from 1987 to 1997 it looks as if I should get at least part of the pension in full from age 60.
Thanks again to the people on this forum. I'd buy you all a pint, but...

Albermarle

shinytop said:

randompenitent said:

garmeg said:

Also if his DC pension has increased by 20% from £840k then that would be all the LTA used up just on that.

May as well crystallise the lot and take the small DB early as well.

I'm within about £10K of the LTA today, so you're correct that I would consume (almost) all of the LTA if I crystallised today. 

It's definitely worth looking at how LTA is applied to DB pensions.  I was right at LTA overall and I concluded I'd be better taking the DB first and slightly early to make sure sure it did not get hit.  With DB, if you are over, I believe any LTA tax applies when you take it but with DC you can mess around with crystallisations and income put it off to some extent till the BCE at 75. 

When I retire in a few months , I will do something similar . Depending on much I will earn in the first months of the next tax year , I might  delay taking the DB until April 2022, although from an LTA point of view it would be better to take as soon as I stop work . In meantime I am making last two pension lump sum payments of £7K each into newly set up SIPP's to take advantage of the small pot rule . I know I can do this three times but I do not have sufficient AA left and should have done it sooner . Got the idea from this forum of course ! (but only recently.)