Selecting retirtement age

DRS1

Enigmaman said:

DRS1 said:

You may also wish to check whether there are any bits of the pension tied to the age you selected (eg guaranteed annuity rate or market value reductions)  That may not be an issue depending on how old the pension is and how it is set up.

For the means tested benefits you may want to look into how that treats a pension - eg does it assume you take it when you are entitled to it (and what does it say if you try to change that date)

I the case of UC, any pension income (e.g. an annuity) would, I believe, count as income in the way that any savings over £6000 are. I would need to check that, however.   

Yes if you take the pension income then it counts.  I was thinking more of what if you get to 65 and decide NOT to take it but put it off till 67 or 70.  Will they say well you SHOULD have taken it so we will treat you as if you DID take it and adjust the benefits accordingly?  I do not know the answer to that one but have it floating around in the back of my mind that it can happen for something.

Shadyocuk

For UC (and I assume any other means tested benefit) you can defer any pension upto the SPA without it counting as notional income or capital.

If on UC and the value of a monthly annuity is less than the monthly UC payment , its not worth taking as the pension payment would be decucted from the UC pound for Pound. However you can be on UC and take ad hoc 
withdrawals or recieve a lump sum (ie the 25%) without it being classed as income , but it would count as capital.

I have no idea where the cross over between taking ad hoc withdrawals (classed as capital) and regular withdrawals (classed as income) actually lies, I believe that lies at the mercy of the individual decision maker , but would expect that eventually either legisilation will be passed or it will get tested in court to clarify, as I would assume that as each year paases more and more people will be affected .

Albermarle

DRS1 said:

Enigmaman said:

DRS1 said:

You may also wish to check whether there are any bits of the pension tied to the age you selected (eg guaranteed annuity rate or market value reductions)  That may not be an issue depending on how old the pension is and how it is set up.

For the means tested benefits you may want to look into how that treats a pension - eg does it assume you take it when you are entitled to it (and what does it say if you try to change that date)

I the case of UC, any pension income (e.g. an annuity) would, I believe, count as income in the way that any savings over £6000 are. I would need to check that, however.   

Yes if you take the pension income then it counts.  I was thinking more of what if you get to 65 and decide NOT to take it but put it off till 67 or 70.  Will they say well you SHOULD have taken it so we will treat you as if you DID take it and adjust the benefits accordingly?  I do not know the answer to that one but have it floating around in the back of my mind that it can happen for something.

Yes that is what happens.
At SPA ( not 65 anymore) and you are taking no income from your DC pension, they will take into account  a figure as if you had bought an annuity with it. Not sure how exactly they calculate the figure, as annuities can pay quite different amounts depending on the terms and conditions.

Albermarle

Moonwolf said:

Are you keeping track of what the pension is invested in?

I would just mention that some pensions (particularly older ones)  move your money into less volatile investments as you approach retirement. This is called lifestyling and can adversely impact your investments, particularly if you aren’t planning on taking an annuity. Retirement age might have an impact here.

Just to say lifestyling is still very common in many modern pensions.
Although nowadays you usually have a choice of lifetstyling for an annuity or for drawdown. The latter has nowadays become more the default option AFAIK