£50000 pension pot

zagfles

racey said:

dunstonh said:

What are the tax implications of taking the money as one lump sum? Is its better to split the withdrawals over tax periods?

If you dont need the pension, why would you take money from it.   It is currently sitting tax free and outside of the estate.  Paying tax to bring it into the estate doesn't sound like a good idea. (75% of the value will be added to your income and taxed at the appropriate tax band if you take it)

If you have an old fashioned pension, you may have to transfer it to a modern plan as many old ones are stuck on legacy rules (have to take pension by 75).  However, a simple transfer to a modern one avoids that.

It is, as you suggest, an old fashioned "defined contribution" pension scheme and stuck on legacy rules. I need to transfer the pot to a modern scheme.
Where do I look for the most suitable schemes?
Many thanks for your help.

They might allow you to take the 25% tax free part if that's all you want, but an older scheme may not allow you to take the taxable part in bits.

racey

Albermarle said:

Many of the traditional pension providers , like Aviva, Royal London etc , will only accept new clients via a financial advisor nowadays . 
Standard Life is one that still accepts new clients without an advisor.
Otherwise so called 'Retail SIPPs' are the way to go for most people looking to set up a new pension, if they have some idea about investments . For £50K , you could look at Hargreaves Landsdown, Fidelity or AJ Bell .
If you prefer something simpler you could have a look at a robo advisor platform like Nutmeg .

researching SIPPS. I believe I can only pay in up to £40k which leaves about £10k in the pot. 
The Vanguard SIPP looks suitable. 

jamesd

That 40k is new money, not money transferred from other pensions. There's no limit on transfer values, all 50k or 50 million is fine.

Nebulous2

racey said:

Albermarle said:

Many of the traditional pension providers , like Aviva, Royal London etc , will only accept new clients via a financial advisor nowadays . 
Standard Life is one that still accepts new clients without an advisor.
Otherwise so called 'Retail SIPPs' are the way to go for most people looking to set up a new pension, if they have some idea about investments . For £50K , you could look at Hargreaves Landsdown, Fidelity or AJ Bell .
If you prefer something simpler you could have a look at a robo advisor platform like Nutmeg .

researching SIPPS. I believe I can only pay in up to £40k which leaves about £10k in the pot. 
The Vanguard SIPP looks suitable. 

You can only pay in £40k in new pension contributions if you have the income to support it. You can transfer as much as you want which is in one pension already to another one. 

Albermarle

racey said:

Albermarle said:

Many of the traditional pension providers , like Aviva, Royal London etc , will only accept new clients via a financial advisor nowadays . 
Standard Life is one that still accepts new clients without an advisor.
Otherwise so called 'Retail SIPPs' are the way to go for most people looking to set up a new pension, if they have some idea about investments . For £50K , you could look at Hargreaves Landsdown, Fidelity or AJ Bell .
If you prefer something simpler you could have a look at a robo advisor platform like Nutmeg .

researching SIPPS. I believe I can only pay in up to £40k which leaves about £10k in the pot. 
The Vanguard SIPP looks suitable. 

The £40K limit per year only applies to new contributions . You can transfer in from another pensions as much as you like .

Just be aware that the transfer must be organised via Vanguard ( or any other provider you may choose) . There is no need to inform or contact the current provider , although sometimes they may contact you just to confirm .
Vanguard ( or other provider ) will offer you a choice to transfer in cash or ' in specie' . That means the investments within  the current pension will be transferred over - if possible . 
Unless your current pension is invested in Vanguard Funds then the transfer will have to be in cash . In any case the transfer will be quicker like this .
Also you should read the Terms and conditions for the Vanguard SIPP carefully - some providers have penalty charges for customers transferring in and then taking it all out again quickly . 

xylophone

You can only pay in £40k in new pension contributions if you have the income to support it. 

Indeed.

However, it  is possible for those under 75 who have no relevant earnings to make a net contribution of up to £2880 to a personal pension and receive tax relief of up to £720 (which will be claimed by the pension provider and added to the pot).

You could consider opening a SIPP  with (eg) Hargreaves Lansdown, making this contribution and also arranging for the transfer of the old pension to the new SIPP?

You could then consider when and how you would access the pension.

racey

Applied for Vanguard SIPP.
Thanks to all for help.