cashing in pension

mrjtizzle

apologies in advance if this is stupid, i am completely lacking in knowledge on these matters so appreciate any help. im 27 and have a pension from a previous employment with about £4000 in which is now frozen i think, is there any way of getting this money now? i ask because i am currently in financial difficulty and urgently need some cash

lisyloo

is there any way of getting this money now?

No I'm afraid there isn't (even if in dire straights).
You can only get money out of a pension if you retire, die or are dying.

The reason is that you get valuable tax relief when you put money in.
The government gives you this bonus on the understanding that the money will be used to fund your retirement.

Perhaps you can give some details of your difficulty to see if anyone can offer any advice.

mrjtizzle

how very frustrating, i wont make it to retirement age at this rate! thanks for your help

jamesd

Do you have a specific medical condition that means that you are likely to die within a few years or less? If so that may be sufficient for the pension plan trustees to release the money earlier than normally allowed.

bigbloke45

I sympathise with your predicament.

I, like many others on MSE, have been in dire straights. I remember many years ago, only too well, being told that my bank could not pay my mortgage for the month. I 'phoned my lender to explain that I could not pay that month, only to be advised that I could send in a cheque to clear the debt!

Today, I am not afraid any more. But what I had to do, and did do, for many years was to keep as many balls in the air as possible.

It's not easy, but it can be done. The first thing you neeed to do is to STOP spending on non-essentials and then go for the cheapest options for essentials. After a while, it becomes really gratifying to see how much you have saved.

BUT, you also need to cater for your retirement. My father in law was able to take money from his pension fund many years ago and did so because of money problems.He never recovered financially from that action.

So my message to you is, don't spoil your life worrying about something you can't get, but concentrate upon what you can do today, then DO IT!

I wish you all success