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ScouseLaffin
Posts: 5 Forumite

Hi, I've got an old pension worth about 6k. i tried to cash it in and it asked if i was single or married for tax reasons. I was single then , now married. For this amount would it really make a difference to carry on the process as single?.
Cheers.
Dave.
Cheers.
Dave.
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Comments
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there are lots of questions that your simple 2 sentences raise.
what sort of pension - presumably DC since you mention a value. does it have any safeguarded benefits?
were you looking to buy an annuity with it
have you requested to cash it in under the small pots rule?
are you still working and contributing to a pension?
are you over 55?
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ScouseLaffin said:Hi, I've got an old pension worth about 6k. i tried to cash it in and it asked if i was single or married for tax reasons. I was single then , now married. For this amount would it really make a difference to carry on the process as single?.
Cheers.
Dave.
Asking if you are single or married 'for tax reasons' makes no sense in the context of what you say you are trying to do (although I guess it might just be aimed at those who could become higher rate taxpayers and might lose the ability to use the marriage allowance rules).Googling on your question might have been both quicker and easier, if you're only after simple facts rather than opinions!0 -
i tried to cash it in and it asked if i was single or married for tax reasons.I am struggling to see why that question would be asked on a small pots or UFPLS transaction.
Its possible a triviality questionnaire could include it but not for tax.
Or perhaps what you have said as "cash it in" is not what we are interpreting cash it in to mean.
I am an Independent Financial Adviser (IFA). The comments I make are just my opinion and are for discussion purposes only. They are not financial advice and you should not treat them as such. If you feel an area discussed may be relevant to you, then please seek advice from an Independent Financial Adviser local to you.0 -
Sorry folks. Its cash in value is just under 6k. I'm 55. I had heart attack 4 months ago still not back at work. its an old deferred LGPS from early nineties. Need cash. As i start the request to cash in the first question is single or married. Basically i'm trying to get out of mailing the marriage certificate to save time. Lazy i know.0
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In that case, it's nothing to do with tax. Instead, there are separate trivial commutation conversion factors for both member and spousal pension benefits, hence the need for your marital status.
Plus you may have to sign a declaration confirming that you are aware that by trivially commuting your pension you are also extinguishing all rights to spouse/child death benefits.
ADD. As this dates back to the early 1990s, it will have a GMP (guaranteed minimum pension). In my day the rules didn't allow for payment of a trivial commutation with GMP before GMP age (still 65 for men, 60 for women).
Before going any further, you may wish to check with your LGPS provider if a trivial commutation payment is indeed possible at this time. Just in case the rules haven't changed since I retired, and your last contact was with a young rookie who didn't spot the GMP......
FURTHER ADD. The LGPS de minimis (small pot) rules allowing unrestricted trivial commutation under £10K were only introduced in 2008, but your pension pre-dates this. Meaning that you may only commute if the notional value of ALL your pensions (excluding the State pension) is under £30K. Sadly, another known rookie mistake.
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Thanks Silvertabby. blimey this stuff is complicated. I've gone through the cashout process, takes up to 12 weeks to get back to me due to demand.1
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ScouseLaffin said:Thanks Silvertabby. blimey this stuff is complicated. I've gone through the cashout process, takes up to 12 weeks to get back to me due to demand.ADD. I've checked - and I'm so sorry but I was right. ie, as you have service between 1978 and 1997 you have a GMP (guaranteed minimum pension) included with your LGPS benefits, meaning you can't trivial commute before GMP age (65 if you are a man, 60 if you are a woman).Plus the de minimis under £10K rule only applies to those with post April 2008 service, so if/when you do come to commute your LGPS benefits your total pensions (ALL other private and/or occupational pensions but not the State pension) must be worth less than £30K. Pensions totalling just £1,500 per year will bust that.I know this isn't what you want to hear, but I would hate for you to commit to spending this money because you expect to receive it. As for your LGPS saying it will take 12 weeks to process, I suspect that your application is in the pending line and won't be properly checked until someone actually starts to work on it.3
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!!!!!!.
Cheers.0
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