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Withdrawing from pension at 55

29 replies

AAAAYY · Yesterday 13:42

I am 55 & have 4 pensions worth approx £70k. This is split 4 ways 1- £4900 2 - £5200 3 - £28,000 & 4 - £32000. My daughter is starting uni this year and would like to take out 25% to help her with accommodation and I have some other debt I would like to pay off. My current salary is £56k (if that's relevant). I am fortunate in as much as dad is downsizing his house next year and is going pay her accommodation from then and give me a lump sum from the sale so I will be able to pay this back onto my pension (or invest in an ISA - I'll speak to an IFA when I receive this) then and I will also be paying any future bonuses in from next year.

Before anyone comments, I know my pension isn't much at the moment but I should be able to build this up before I retire (hopefully 65ish).

I have no idea the best way to do this - in as much do I cash in the small pots or leave these and take from larger pensions.

Any advice would be great. TY

OP posts:
StillNotDoingIt · Today 10:21

AAAAYY · Yesterday 13:42

I am 55 & have 4 pensions worth approx £70k. This is split 4 ways 1- £4900 2 - £5200 3 - £28,000 & 4 - £32000. My daughter is starting uni this year and would like to take out 25% to help her with accommodation and I have some other debt I would like to pay off. My current salary is £56k (if that's relevant). I am fortunate in as much as dad is downsizing his house next year and is going pay her accommodation from then and give me a lump sum from the sale so I will be able to pay this back onto my pension (or invest in an ISA - I'll speak to an IFA when I receive this) then and I will also be paying any future bonuses in from next year.

Before anyone comments, I know my pension isn't much at the moment but I should be able to build this up before I retire (hopefully 65ish).

I have no idea the best way to do this - in as much do I cash in the small pots or leave these and take from larger pensions.

Any advice would be great. TY

Edited, as I had not read the whole thread, sorry…

ConBatulations · Today 13:25

Rules are slightly different for your 2 small pensions. From gov.uk;
A pension worth up to £10,000
You can usually take any pension worth up to £10,000 in one go. This is called a ‘small pot’ lump sum. If you take this option, 25% is tax-free.

You can usually get:

up to 3 small pot lump sums from different personal pensions
unlimited small pot lump sums from different workplace pensions

Lots of places will consolidate e.g AJ Bell, Scottish widows. Look for switching bonuses or short term fee free offers as well. Check if there are any disadvantages to moving your pension if invested in with profits funds. Typical fee would be 0.25% for the platform and another 0.1-0.3% for a passive global tracker or multi asset fund. There may be dealing fees on top but these are often not applied to regular investment.

wantmorenow · Today 18:30

Again, this might also be awful decision. There are specific beneficial rules for small pension pots and combining them may make sense or be a very costly mistake. I suggest you do rebel Finance course. It's 10 weeks and has just started for this year. Free on YouTube and work through it until the pensions part comes up.

The most important thing is to get the ones you have performing well. Lumping them together feels "tidier" and logical but in reality it's sometimes at a penalty.

wantmorenow · Today 18:33

Ideally go for the lowest management fee possible and the widest diversity of funds for maximum growth and lowest cost. AJ bell and the like will cost you and reduce your gains. Watch some videos, your future self needs to understand it. It's actually not as complex as you might think once it's explained simply.

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