Pension release or pension unlocking, is the process of accessing some of the money that you have invested into your pension over your working lifetime. If you hold a UK private or company pension which you are not already receiving benefits from and you are between the ages of 55 – 62 years old you could be eligible to release up to 25% of your pension as a tax free lump sum without having to take your pension income and without having to retire. You can carry on working and continue to make further contributions to your pension which will continue to benefit from a tax efficient environment.
Because pension release will ultimately reduce the income that you will receive in retirement they will make sure that you have looked at all the other possible alternatives for raising money before embarking on pension release. Releasing cash from your pension could also effect any means tested State Benefits to which you are entitled. It is therefore extremely important to remember that pension release is only suitable for a very limited number of people and circumstances and should not be seen as an easy way to raise cash. The FSA see this as a high risk activity and should only be undertaken when all other avenues have been explored. Taking the benefits of your pension early will affect your retirement income and your standard of living in retirement and it is vital that you seek expert advice before you try to release cash from your pension.
