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Early access to pension

  • 03-10-2022 11:35am
    #1
    Covid19
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 152 ✭✭


    Hi. I'm 50 and, due to personal circumstances, am in need of some extra funds ( sick child etc).

    I had a pension with an old job over a number of years. I contacted the pension company that was connected to the old job, and they issued a letter giving the current value ( around €27000) and associated documents ( re-investment options etc)

    I then contacted an insurance/pension guy that I vaguely knew and I explained that I needed any options to release some of the pension. ( I need around €12,000) to cover health-related bills) Issue is, he told me that, yes, there is a way, and then proceeded to bamboozle me with "buy-out-bonds, etc etc". From the start, I never quite trusted the guy, and I just got a funny feeling about the whole thing. ( He was really pressuring me to sign certain documents on the spot during our first and only meeting, but I held my ground and managed to hold in to the documents and bring them with me upon the meetings end).

    Could someone advise me on who to go to in order to explore the options of releasing the funds? I'm based in Co.Mayo.

    You're help is very much appreciated.

    (

    PS: He also wanted me to hand over € 450 on the day, prior to any processing of documents. I don't have that kind of money available, so when I suggested that he take any fees from the funds to be released, he wasn't having any of it, which increased my cynicism even more)

    Thank you folks,



Comments

  • #2
    Meathcat
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 56 ✭✭Meathcat


    You should be able to access a portion of that pension as you have turned 50 but not all of it. I think you're entitled to something like 20% of it now. Who has it at the moment? I turned 50 this year and got a letter from APT Wealth Management about my old pension from a previous job. It had been invested in a Personal Retirement Bond and had grown to a sizeable amount. I couldn't access all of it and it was optional to take the 20% but I decided to take it as there is still quite a large amount that will be reinvested.

    I think that other guy was trying to pull a fast one on you. You can only access a certain percentage of the pension now. The rest has to be reinvested until you are 61. You can then access 4% of the value.

    I would go back to the pension company and tell them you don't understand what they are saying and to explain it to you in plain English. What can you get now, is what you really want to know. I think, by law, you can't take it all. Something has to be left for your retirement.



  • #3
    AndrewJRenko
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 30,290 ✭✭✭✭AndrewJRenko


    https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119738587#Comment_119738587

    Is this limitation new? I cashed out funds from a previous employer's pension scheme some years back and there was no mention of any limitation.

    OP - go back to the trustees or pension manager for your previous pension, and ask THEM To provide you with options. You should generally have the option to take the cash now with no fees involved, though it may depend on the rules of your particular fund. They should advise you whether you can do a partial withdrawal, or whether you have to do a partial withdrawal. 

    If you're not taking all the cash, you may well need to transfer the rest to a Buy Out Bond. You will need a broker for this, but the guy you mention seems like a pushy sales guy.



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