Should I withdraw small pension from SAUL

ramosanky

Hi All,

First post here

As a job-hopping, mortgage-paying millennial, I just wanted to hear thoughts on whether or not it's worth it to keep £1000 in a SAUL pension pot I had from when I briefly worked for a university.

I'm 25 years old, so it'll be a while before I actually see any of that £1000 pension back. I'm unlikely to return to working for education, so it's unlikely I'll be able to add to that SAUL pension pot any further.

I have other pensions pots with other pension providers since (5k in Aviva with a previous employer, and building another one up with Scottish widows through my current employer).

I'm considering either leaving the £1000 in SAUL, transferring it to Scottish widow with my current employer, or just taking it out (and suffering the 20% taxation) and placing it in a savings account of some sort.

Any thoughts?

MallyGirl

if you are 25 you can't take it out unless you have just left the brief employment and they are offering you a refund of your contributions. If that is it then you usually lose out on the employer contributions so not a great deal

dunstonh

I'm 25 years old, so it'll be a while before I actually see any of that £1000 pension back.

You will be 50 before you know it.  Time gets faster as you get older.

I'm considering either leaving the £1000 in SAUL, transferring it to Scottish widow with my current employer, or just taking it out (and suffering the 20% taxation) and placing it in a savings account of some sort.

You cannot take it out and there is no 20% taxation.
Even if you could, placing it in a savings account would be a silly thing to do.    The pension will wipe the floor with a savings account over the term.

Any thoughts?

There is the potential for consolidating the pots so you don't have so many.  Job hoppers typically do that nowadays.

Marcon

ramosanky said:

Hi All,

First post here

As a job-hopping, mortgage-paying millennial, I just wanted to hear thoughts on whether or not it's worth it to keep £1000 in a SAUL pension pot I had from when I briefly worked for a university.

I'm 25 years old, so it'll be a while before I actually see any of that £1000 pension back. I'm unlikely to return to working for education, so it's unlikely I'll be able to add to that SAUL pension pot any further.

I have other pensions pots with other pension providers since (5k in Aviva with a previous employer, and building another one up with Scottish widows through my current employer).

I'm considering either leaving the £1000 in SAUL, transferring it to Scottish widow with my current employer, or just taking it out (and suffering the 20% taxation) and placing it in a savings account of some sort.

Any thoughts?

At 25, the possibility of ever reaching the ripe old age known as 'retirement' seems vanishingly improbable! But it will happen...

If you were a 'salary sacrifice' member have at least 3 months of SAUL membership, you can't withdraw the loot (you're too young), so that narrows down the options.

If you leave your SAUL pension where it is, the fact you can't add to it doesn't matter. It will automatically increase each year from the time you left your employment with the university until you come to draw on your SAUL benefits. In the meantime, you can - as you're already doing - contribute to other pension arrangements.

Might be worth a quick squint at the scheme booklet to remind yourself of the benefits: https://www.saul.org.uk/#/page/the-benefits-guide