The practicalities of commencing drawdown from MP pension pots

Albermarle

As already said it is a good idea to get better informed about in pensions in general. This forum can be quite informative once you have grasped the basics.
This Govt website is good and you should have a chat with Pensionwise at a later stage.

Pensions and retirement | Help with pensions and retirement | MoneyHelper

Heidiho

xylophone said:

Have you obtained a state pension forecast?

https://www.gov.uk/check-state-pension

Regarding your Money Purchase pensions, do any of them have safeguarded benefits (Guaranteed Annuity Rate)?

 If not, Is there any reason why the pension from the previous employer should not be transferred into the Aviva plan holding the regular

contributions?

It seems that you are intending to  continue to work for your current employer and retire at age 57?

Presumably as you approach retirement, you could consider consolidating the (then ) three plans into one plan offering whatever flexibility

you require?

Yes, I’ve obtained my state pension forecast and the tax year just gone will have been my 35th qualifying year so I’m all set there (unless the rules change in the future of course

Thank you, I willlook into the safeguarded benefits & whether I can consolidate the pot from my previous employer.

I'm looking to give up work in around 18 months time. I can’t say for sure that I won’t need or want to go back to work in the future but if I do it will only be part-time. the commute for my current job is quite painful and doing it for more than another 18 months does not feel like an option. If I can get through that period I intend to reward myself by trying out this retirement lark and see how things go from there.

Heidiho

enthusiasticsaver said:

My husband and I retired early at age 58. Initially for the first 2 years we lived off my husbands and my  lump sum from our DB schemes. We only started drawing on the DC pots and stocks and shares ISAS 5 years later. Our state pensions for both of us kick in this year and next year. Our IFA worked out a drawdown scheme for us so we are mainly following that. We had been working out estimated income and expenditure since our mid 50s expecting to retire at 60. We decided to go early when we thought we could afford to retire without compromising lifestyle. We got quotes 6 months before retiring but we had been using annual statements and forecasts to get rough estimates for several years prior to that. 

Personally if none of these MP schemes have protected benefits I would consolidate them. Not sure why you have three different pots with your current employer but some might have guaranteed benefits. You need to work out how much you need to live off initially before you can work out when you can afford to retire. What is the plan to fund you in the early years of retirement before your pensions can be drawn on?  

Thank you. My plan for the early years is to live off rental income and savings. I might need to adjust expectations as I go but don’t mind returning to work if I need to. But I’ve reached the point where I want out of my current job; the only reason I’m hanging on for another 18 months is to build up my savings/pension a bit more.

Dazed_and_C0nfused

Heidiho said:

xylophone said:

Have you obtained a state pension forecast?

https://www.gov.uk/check-state-pension

Regarding your Money Purchase pensions, do any of them have safeguarded benefits (Guaranteed Annuity Rate)?

 If not, Is there any reason why the pension from the previous employer should not be transferred into the Aviva plan holding the regular

contributions?

It seems that you are intending to  continue to work for your current employer and retire at age 57?

Presumably as you approach retirement, you could consider consolidating the (then ) three plans into one plan offering whatever flexibility

you require?

Yes, I’ve obtained my state pension forecast and the tax year just gone will have been my 35th qualifying year so I’m all set there (unless the rules change in the future of course

Thank you, I willlook into the safeguarded benefits & whether I can consolidate the pot from my previous employer.

I'm looking to give up work in around 18 months time. I can’t say for sure that I won’t need or want to go back to work in the future but if I do it will only be part-time. the commute for my current job is quite painful and doing it for more than another 18 months does not feel like an option. If I can get through that period I intend to reward myself by trying out this retirement lark and see how things go from there.

The current rules relating to 35 years only apply to those starting to build up an NI history from April 2016.

You are under transitional rules where anywhere from 28/29 to 50+ years can be required.

You may well have reached the standard new State Pension but mentioning 35 years shows you haven't understood how it works so you might want to check your forecast again just to be certain.  It's important to read the whole thing, not just the headline info.

xylophone

What exactly is shown at

"Estimate to 5/4/23 (4)" on your State Pension Forecast?

Mr.Generous

When you say "Dip the waters in 18 months" do you mean draw down or take the lump sum? I thought you had to be a mimimum age of 55 to do that. It used to be 50 but that was a good few years ago.

Heidiho

Dazed_and_C0nfused said:

Heidiho said:

xylophone said:

Have you obtained a state pension forecast?

https://www.gov.uk/check-state-pension

Regarding your Money Purchase pensions, do any of them have safeguarded benefits (Guaranteed Annuity Rate)?

 If not, Is there any reason why the pension from the previous employer should not be transferred into the Aviva plan holding the regular

contributions?

It seems that you are intending to  continue to work for your current employer and retire at age 57?

Presumably as you approach retirement, you could consider consolidating the (then ) three plans into one plan offering whatever flexibility

you require?

Yes, I’ve obtained my state pension forecast and the tax year just gone will have been my 35th qualifying year so I’m all set there (unless the rules change in the future of course

Thank you, I willlook into the safeguarded benefits & whether I can consolidate the pot from my previous employer.

I'm looking to give up work in around 18 months time. I can’t say for sure that I won’t need or want to go back to work in the future but if I do it will only be part-time. the commute for my current job is quite painful and doing it for more than another 18 months does not feel like an option. If I can get through that period I intend to reward myself by trying out this retirement lark and see how things go from there.

The current rules relating to 35 years only apply to those starting to build up an NI history from April 2016.

You are under transitional rules where anywhere from 28/29 to 50+ years can be required.

You may well have reached the standard new State Pension but mentioning 35 years shows you haven't understood how it works so you might want to check your forecast again just to be certain.  It's important to read the whole thing, not just the headline info.

Oh dear, I’ve made a rookie error here! Thank you for pointing this out. Time for further investigations…

Heidiho

xylophone said:

What exactly is shown at

"Estimate to 5/4/23 (4)" on your State Pension Forecast?

I’ve used the link provided but can’t find any wording to match yours, but it does say that my forecast is £221.20 per week - but I have a feeling that it says that to anyone who has enough qualifying years ahead of them so not sure how meaningful it is. As mentioned in my previous post, I clearly need to make further investigations. Still, better to learn all this now rather than on the day before (or, even worse, after!) handing my notice in.

xylophone

I’ve used the link provided but can’t find any wording to match yours, 

See this post where poster shares his forecast

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/80699946/#Comment_80699946

Do you see the line in question on your forecast?

Heidiho

xylophone said:

I’ve used the link provided but can’t find any wording to match yours, 

See this post where poster shares his forecast

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/80699946/#Comment_80699946

Do you see the line in question on your forecast?

Ah thank you! It seems to be worded slightly different for me, but I think this is my equivalent of what the other poster shared. Would you agree?