Access to pension funds....can it be done?

[BigPigLittlePig]

DH lost his job today. Bit of a blow but life goes on. Question is this.

He has paid perhaps £10000 into his pension in the past couple of years, a pension provided by the (large) employer for whom he no longer works. What happens to this money? Can one reclaim it? Reinvest? Transfer?

If it is a personal pension or stakeholder type set up, it can be transferred To another registered pension scheme. Most providers will suggest advice. It will continue to be invested as per your current situation where it is now.

Unlock your pension type scams open you up to Tax charges amounting 55% plus the scammers charge if under 55

if you take it out of a personal pension scheme you have to pay up all of the tax

if it was an employer pension its not his to touch

it is important to find out if he can leave it in the company scheme, what are the ongoing charges, what will it be invested in, is it a final-salary scheme, does it include widows/dependents, is it indexed, what is the transfer value. Did he actually pay in for more or less than two years?

I swapped out of a final salary scheme when I was quite young because I thought I had a long time for it to grow, and the company bumped up the transfer value because they didn't want to carry the liability. If you are nearer retirement, a final salary scheme may be better than anything else you can get.

When you have the answers, you will need some serious advice.

Beware of anyone who will earn big commission by persuading you to switch to a company that suits the salesman.

He has paid into it for probably 4 years. And is many many moons off retirement unluckily for him We're just keen that all the investing doesn't go down the pan, just because he's left the company.

Thanks for the thoughts - shall make him ring in on Monday to see what they suggest.