Readers may remember the pension freedoms announced by George Osborne in 2014. These became effective on April the 6th this year. The fanfare accompanying the announcement and indeed subsequently is often set against the backdrop of pensioners sat in Daimlers or on Yachts having drawn all their money out and lavished it on some frivolous purchase.
The reforms promised that over 55’s would have access to their pension cash as they pleased whether it was the full amount or in small payments. Or indeed it could be left invested. The choices on offer appeared staggering, always bearing in mind that there are tax implications for taking large sums.
The announcement made by the UK Government on the 5th of April 2015, regarding the possibility of YOU being able to access your Private Pension Entitlement (at the age of 55 years) resulted in literally thousands of enquiries to each and every Pension Scheme Provider in the UK, from both Expats and UK Residents alike. No wonder then that the stock response when telephoning, is “We are currently experiencing a high volume of calls…”, “Your call will be answered in approximately … minutes, you may wish to call back at another time.” etc. Infuriating? Yes, absolutely! Well, here´s something else all of you ex-pats need to know…
Ever since the UK chancellor announced he was going to allow pension freedom on UK private pensions from April 2015 the papers have had articles galore on what you can spend your money on, then some started to focus on the fact that there was a nasty sting in the tale for many people who cash in their pension and that was TAX. Now the time is nearly upon us the main concern seems to be the number of scammers and fraudsters that are after your money.
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