Age 55 ?

[comeracing]

28 years in this job , absolutely hate it now if i can last that long looking at retirement in 3-4 years when im 55 ,id have 31 years service by then i want a lump sum and weekly pension any idea on amounts please , i just want to plan ahead if figures are acceptable for me im out and will get part time work elsewhere.

[heapsy]

As has been said on numerous occasions. Reduce your figures by 5% for every year you take your pension earlier than NRA. This reduction also applies to the lump sum element. If the figures don't add up to a decent amount then maybe it's not worth it. Be careful. Someone in our office has taken his NRA60 early and let's just say he screwed up by listening to an idiot in the office. He's facing poverty in retirement.

[pieoftheday]

28 years in this job , absolutely hate it now if i can last that long looking at retirement in 3-4 years when im 55 ,id have 31 years service by then i want a lump sum and weekly pension any idea on amounts please , i just want to plan ahead if figures are acceptable for me im out and will get part time work elsewhere.

Best to post in the pension section

[Navalron]

As has been said on numerous occasions. Reduce your figures by 5% for every year you take your pension earlier than NRA. This reduction also applies to the lump sum element. If the figures don't add up to a decent amount then maybe it's not worth it. Be careful. Someone in our office has taken his NRA60 early and let's just say he screwed up by listening to an idiot in the office. He's facing poverty in retirement.

Yes but what a lot of yous dont mention is that your pension is being paid, yes at maybe 25% less if you waited. But if you didn't touch the money it takes an average of 27 years to start losing. Look at your figures. I know everyone is different but I've just turned 55 and taken every pension including my Royal Navy and Royal Mail pension. I'm in a final/ career average government civil service pension but I'm thinking off leaving in the next couple of years buying a motor home and me and the good lady touring, wherever we want, obviously still keeping the house. Life's too short.

[roadrunner bill]

As has been said on numerous occasions. Reduce your figures by 5% for every year you take your pension earlier than NRA. This reduction also applies to the lump sum element. If the figures don't add up to a decent amount then maybe it's not worth it. Be careful. Someone in our office has taken his NRA60 early and let's just say he screwed up by listening to an idiot in the office. He's facing poverty in retirement.

Yes but what a lot of yous dont mention is that your pension is being paid, yes at maybe 25% less if you waited. But if you didn't touch the money it takes an average of 27 years to start losing. Look at your figures. I know everyone is different but I've just turned 55 and taken every pension including my Royal Navy and Royal Mail pension. I'm in a final/ career average government civil service pension but I'm thinking off leaving in the next couple of years buying a motor home and me and the good lady touring, wherever we want, obviously still keeping the house. Life's too short.

I want to take all my pension at 55, sell the house and move to Greece, I've said it before..
And as you say life is too short, we are here for a nano secondcof time compared to the age of the universe.. live life, not work life..

[mrcurve]

it can be hard to leave if you are working and getting your pension, dopping down to just the pension will be quite a bump.

If you take the pension early then it will be smaller later in life when you might be unable to work.

[RobertT]

It's a subject that's been discussed on here many times over the years, and ultimately there isn't really a definite yes or no answer.

If you go purely by the maths and averages, taking your pension early means getting less overall, aswell as less per week/month when you do retire.

I've worked out that if I take my section C Age60 and Age65 at 55, my break even age will be 73.5. So quite a lot less than the 27 years someone else has quoted.

If I were to fund my lump sum by reducing my pension, that age would be less. But I have AVC's for that.

The average life expectancy of a 60 year old in the UK is 84.

But it's not all about the figures, as you also have the human element. Plus many people will have other savings/pensions to fall back on.

As far as I'm concerned if you have enough tucked away to take your pension early and at least semi retire, then great, you're in a good position to make the life choices you want to.

But based on posts on here and some I've seen on Facebook, in my opinion far too many people are taking their pension early for the wrong or flippant reasons. Particularly those who are continuing to work full time. And those people could well be prolonging their working life as a result, compared to leaving their pensions until NRA.

Ultimately it's a choice only the individual can make, based on their own circumstances. But it's something that will be with you for life, if you choose wrong.

[derricksmyth]

Words of wisdom, once again Robert. I think the big factor for me not taking before NRA is that you will be locked into the same monthly payment every month. Losing on inflation each year is not a great prospect. After the 2 years we have had, you need your 60 benefits to be index linked.

[RobertT]

Words of wisdom, once again Robert. I think the big factor for me not taking before NRA is that you will be locked into the same monthly payment every month. Losing on inflation each year is not a great prospect. After the 2 years we have had, you need your 60 benefits to be index linked.

Your pension will still increase by inflation if you take it before NRA. But the lower your starting amount, the lower those annual increases will be.

That can have a big impact over the long term.