Would you take £12.5k now to access your state pension earlier?

[AllaMova]

The Government are apparently considering allowing people under the age of 40 to take a £12.5k lump sum in exchange for being able to access their state pension a year later. You’d need at least ten years of national insurance contributions in order to qualify, if it goes ahead.

Would you take this?

I think I would - I could stick it in a S&S ISA, in order for it to grow over time. I think it’s a pretty good idea, especially for those who are looking to buy a house.

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2026/jun/09/young-people-money-citizens-advance-generations-older-people

57, I’m afraid. Rules are changing… might even be 58 by then.

I assume she means Right To Buy for council houses. A set of people got a house at a significant discount. Which often worked out well for them, but it's reduced the stock of affordable housing hugely.

Yes I agree. I've had so many friends not even reach state pension age, I would definitely take it.

I would, I’m on track for a very good pension and would prefer the money towards my mortgage now. Not sure it’s a good idea in general though as a lot of people aren’t on track for good pensions. I’m also not even convinced I will get a state pension 🤣

Both my parents died before official retirement age I would take the gamble and have a years pension now it would be put into as high an interest rate account I could get hold of and that way at least I would get some benefit if I don't get to retirement either.

Don’t would be worth less than it is now once inflation takes it. Inflation has been 41% in the last 10years…

In which case it was a discount only available to council tenants, not "boomers" generally.

Yep I would. I am saving for my retirement on the basis that a non-means tested state pension will not be available for me anyway, so yes please to having some now instead. DH and I could use £25k.

What would happen if you took the money but then didn’t complete full NI contributions? 😂 would they ask for it back?

If you have a partner and both cash in a year, that's more than a 10% deposit on a £200k house. Mortgage likely to be cheaper than renting so every chance you can save an extra year,'s worth of pension and still afford to stop work at 67 (or will it be 68 then?).

Not sure why you think it's an absolutely joke

Yes if it didn’t impact the age I could take out my private pension

Wouldn't it be better to build affordable energy efficient homes.
Look at how other countries successfully do it.
We need a government to make tough decisions to fix the country not start messing with people's pensions so they have to work longer before retirement.

No it wasn't for council tennants only. Extremely affordable quality housing was available for everyone. You didn't have to be a high earner and you didn't have to be a couple or married. People who were working full time could get on the housing ladder and still live relatively comfortable.

Its still available anyway although amounts have obviously changed but theres no specific age requirement, so in the 80s it would be people of any age and today its people of any age. Bit strange for the previous poster to talk about boomers?

Was this a government discount? And only for 'boomers'?

Which discount scheme that "the boomers" had in the1980s?

What discount scheme did people have in the 80s? I’m not a Boomer but I bought my first house in the 80s and I definitely didn’t get any sort of discount.

@Yellowshirt I was in London in all of the 80s. Very few single people could afford to buy a small flat without help. It was a rising market. I had a job in the City and was on a good salary for a 21 year old, more than mpst of my friends and two/three times more than outside London. I still needed help with the deposit.

My mortgage payments were 63.5% of my net income. Interest rates were 12%, white goods/furniture were very expensive.

I had a bed, wardrobe, two deckchairs, a second hand cooker and no central heating for the first year (my mum bought me a fridge).

Whilst I appreciate the property multiplier required today, don't underestimate the higher interest rates and the fact that property prices are cyclical. We are heading towards the bottom of the cycle.

I doubt I'll ever make it to pension age so I'd take the cash now in a heartbeat.

As has been asked 10,000 times…what’s a boomer?

Say what? I’m not a Boomer, I’m Gen X but bought my first house in 1988, what discount scheme was this that you speak of?

The description has changed over the years, initially it really meant the baby boom that occured just after the war as men came back and pregnancies occured, so 1945-50ish

Now it means virtually anyone who managed to buy a house at any time and who you hate for it.

Its a slur

My exact interpretation of this insult!

You only got three times your salary over 25 years. These days you can get 5 times your salary over 50.

The mystical land of boomer did not exist.