Calis Beach and Fethiye Turkey Discussion Forum
Information and Services in Turkey Section => Banks, Interest, Money Transfers, Insurance => Topic started by: Karennina on February 11, 2017, 19:55:34 PM
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Can anyone shed any light on this for me please...
I have had a pension frozen for 20 years and am looking at taking it in May, over the years I have had a few predictions on taking it age 55 and even though I have not paid into it for 20 years it has always grown. Anyway i have recently received my latest prediction and am really gutted to see the option of a tax free cash lump sum has dropped by £4000!
I will put my hands up to the fact I know nothing about pensions like are they effected by the bank interest rate etc...I am waiting to hear back from the company but would be grateful for any advice/ thoughts as to why this could be in the meantime many thanks :)
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Karen, Speak to the company that is supplying the Pension they will be be straight with you and give you advice.
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This information may help:
https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/the-pensions-advisory-service
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I emailed the compsny yesterday Jacqui but as it was the weekend i was getting impatient!
Thank you for the link Lynne just had a look looks very good am hoping to be able to do the live chat thing with someone tomorrow, looks very informative thank you :)
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Just a thought, on previous statements were they based on retiring at age 55? They sometimes quote based on normal retirement age - giving you the option to retire early with a reduced amount - that may explain the lower figure.
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Hi Lynne yes the previous one was for age 55 I had thought that too! I will phone the company tomorrow, I was really excited about getting the prediction through and was really shocked when I saw it had gone down by 4000 as in the 20 years Iv had it frozen it has always shown growth...
Thanks again for the link for the pension website
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Do let me know the answer - I'm nearly 51 and thinking 55 is a good time to finish :) (Although 51 would be nicer!).
Also, don't forget, you can get quotes elsewhere for the benefits - you don't have to take the money from the original pension provider. You can take your fund to other companies to get quotes on what benefits they would give you with the pot.
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Yes I will do Lynne still waiting to hear back from the company..ha i know what you mean re 55 being a good age to quit work but 51 being better! I finished 2.5 years ago but without pension, I love it and dont know how i found time to go to work! Iv been soo excited about being able to take this pension at 55 ( not the idea of actually being 55 though lol) and was soo gutted to see the shortfall...
Ooh i did not know that re not having to take with the person who its with, I shall carry on doing my research before i make any decisions!
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I shall carry on doing my research before i make any decisions!
Given the importance of any decision you make, and on the basis you could lose/gain a lot of money depending on what you decide, it may be worthwhile speaking to an independent pension specialist or financial advisor (who you'd probably have to pay for their time). They would look at your, and your husbands, overall situation as there may also be tax implications etc that you need to be aware of and give you advice on how to maximise the return from your pension.
JF
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Did you receive predictions or guarantees of the amount?
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Predictions I think!
Thanks all for replies I have decided tonight John F that is what Im going to do make an appointment with a financial advisor
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If your tax free lump sum has dropped by £4000 then the value of your fund must have dropped by £16000.
That's a big drop.
I suspect the previous figures were growth estimates but you need to look into your past statements to see if the actual value has dropped or not. As I said - I suspect the previous quotes were estimates based on future values as £16k is a big drop. How many years is it since you last checked the figures?
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If you want to pm me the details I can look into to for you. I am retired now but still understand the principals involved. I will not be able to advise you other than generically. I do still have some good friends in the pension industry though.
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I had my reply today it says " Any predictions or estimates are made with an assumption of 4% growth but unfortunately the actual rate of inflation has been a lot lower ( nearer to 1-2%)
Thank you Stoop I really appreciate your offer I truly do not understand it all, Iv been getting regular predictions, I am now really concerned about my husband's whose will be our main scource of income as he must have lost an awful lot!
I will get all the info together and pm you, thanks again
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No worries. As someone above said it really pays to shop around and look at all the options.
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Husband is going to make an appointment with a financial advisor take all our paperwork and see what they say, we have a good few months to do it and mull over what they say, but thank you soo much Stoop for your kind offer to take a look for us im glad I asked on here as it has made me aware of lots of things that both of us soo were not aware of re pensions! :)
Thanks very much all :)
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One option that a friend just took was based on the fact his state pension is going to be about £200 a week due to his SERPS contributions.
He worked out that at 66 he could live off that. So he needs to make sure he has enough to retire at 60 and get him over that six years.
Luckily his pension fund was large enough to do draw downs for the six years and it would allow him to retire at 60 and survive until he reaches 66.
Worth a thought but needs looking at carefully.