what to do with pension

clara_2

hi,
I have a pension which I have paid into for approx 13 years ,I have taken a career break for domestic reasons and am not sure what the best thing to do with my pension or what is actually happening to it at the moment.Can anyone suggest what to do ,as at the moment can,t afford to pay into it and am looking to move house so wondered if there is a way to invest and use towards repayment of mortgage.Any ideas gratefully appreciated,
thanks.

margaretclare

Hi clara

No, you can't take your pension out to repay a mortgage - at least, not until you're 55!

You may be glad of the 13 years' contributions in time to come. Leave it alone, but make sure you know where it is, who is looking after it etc. If/when you return to work you should be able to re-start it with a future employer. You don't want those contributions to be lost!

Aunty Margaret

dunstonh

Is it an occupational pension or personal pension?

If personal, are there guarantees on it? Guarantees disappeared in the early 90's with most providers with the last one still doing them up until 1995. These guarantees can be valuable. If you make the plan paid up, most providers will not allow you to restart them at a later date, where there are guarantees. So, in these cases, it may be worth carrying on with the payments as you will get a lot more back in retirement.

If there are no guarantees built into the plan, then you could make paid up and restart later (that may not be possible and a new plan may be required but dont be concerned with that).

As margaretclare says, its important to know where it is and how its doing.

System

I am moving this post over to the pension board Clara, it may get more replies to it than here on the savings board.