Renting into retirement - WIBU to spend my pension pot before age 67?

[Artricha]

I am a housing association tenant and I'm 60 years old. I have a pension pot of £86000. According to best forecasts it would pay out an annuity of £6000 a year which wouldn't even cover my rent. I would then have to pay the remainder of my rent plus council tax from my state pension plus all my living expenses. I have looked into part ownership but that's even worse as the leasehold charges plus rent are around £800 a month.

If I have only £16000 at the point I claim state pension, I will be able to claim housing benefit and council tax benefit too. Day to day living expenses wise I will be no worse off under this scenario. Possibly even better off as there are other benefits that housing benefit is a passport to.

Plus, if I took the money now, I'd quite like to cut down on work over the next few years, give a bit of money to my kids (after all, there won't be anything much to inherit when I die), have a few nice sun holidays in winter, get a decent car, kit my kitchen out with white goods that will last me.

Running down money before retirement is the opposite of what we're told to do, so it feels weird. But I think in my circumstances it's sensible. AIBU?

Surely if state pension is means tested then it makes matters worse for people with modest means? So people like OP would be cashing out small private pensions in their droves. And younger people would not save into a pension at all as it could very likely work against them.

And if council tax/inheritance tax increases plus a property tax (suggested by the left) there would be little point in buying a house as it would be practically sequestered.

Interestingly the state pension was means tested around 100 years ago. Only since the post 2ww welfare reforms was it not..and in those days we were a productive country with a much smaller and healthier old age population. Usually if you got ill you didn't last very long.

Take the 25k but keep track of dpends like a car you needed it to work or too imboike to work. Your tv broke etc needed a hiliday die to steess ans anxiety couldbt go on own etc. honestly you could die before you even get state pension.
i say this as a person working very hard own home amd my private pension not too great. We have had no benefits. I hate some proole having benefits at my expense but you have clearly worked and i cant grudge you some fun money from your pension pot. You could have just spent that miney years ago. Id be very wary of large sums being transferred across to relatives thats very traceable. Monthly allowance for care while sick not so much. Just keep track amd senisble reasoning. I feel like they barely check up on people anyway. 25% of 86k is hardly mega bucks

That's simply what a lot of private rentals are like. Not sure why the aggressive tone in your comments, go for a nice walk round the Bullring or something.