PPF changing retirement factors for 1st October

CHEMCAT

Long time reader but first time poster. Mrs Chemcat received retirement illustration from PPF for her nra pension for  November. Went onto website to check options and it is clear that retirement factors being changed on 1st October. Quick bit of optioneering on the PPF Quote and Retire calculator revealed that if she retired today then the annual pension payment increased by £240 a year and lump sum by £2000. Plus two and a half months pension payments before her nra. So all in around £4000 better off by retiring today instead of waiting until na. Highlighted so that anyone retiring  at npa and in PPF in next three months or so should look at retiring a few months early. The PPF website says that it will not quote using the on line calculators with new risk factors until after the 1st October. Presumably to stop anyone seeing the difference and going early.  Can only see this difference as the PPF write to advise what nra numbers will be 3 months prior to nra date.

squirrelpie

What the PPF has to say about the changes is at https://www.ppf.co.uk/news/Important-changes-for-those-considering-retirement-soon

There's details of a lot of the factors available by following a link on that page. I confess I don't understand what has caused the change. Not that I have any personal consequences.

Scarum

They do this every year. 

CHEMCAT

Thanks squirrelpie the explanation helps but there is no way to see what your numbers will be after 1st October. Until they apply the new factors to their modelling other than PPF sending the 3 month warning letter. If you get one of these check the retire today option in the calculator 'quote and retire'. I suspect that if your nra was February or even March 2024  you would get better numbers by retiring before 1st October. But no way to prove this.

hubb

I have been running quotes with the PPF all this year after a "factor change" in March that bought it down by a couple of grand. My last tax free lump sum quote was £11.340 in August.  I was horrified when I ran another just after the factor change this month and it now reads £9.830 !!! 

And strangely enough I was locked out of my account when I tried to log in last month to run the benefit modler because there was an issue with my log in password which was 100% correct from my end. They took their time resolving this for me over emails, asking for more details even though they had them, until finally they gave me the all clear just after October 1st when factor changes had come in. Funny that! 

Scarum

Yep, the PPF salami slicer is cutting thinner and thinner slices!  I've seen it happen each year as time goes by.  So much for what was my then was government pension!