Minimum or Maximum pension lump sum?

stroller · Post by **stroller** » 17 Mar 2016, 21:47

Yes mate they have moved the goalpost's from October 2015, you had the best deal now it's all changed.

heapsy · Post by **heapsy** » 18 Mar 2016, 20:43

I've been reading the many posts regarding taking your pension early and I just don't get it. WHY would you do it? If you are that obsessed with the possibility you might die early then WHY put money in to a pension in the first place? Statistically retired people run out of money 7 years after retirement. So if you take your pension early it is reasonable to assume that the cash will run out even EARLIER. There is a real danger here that you might actually end up working longer, due to lack of funds. Our great grandparents had to do just that because they didn't have a pension. Secondly, does nobody listen to anything that is being said in the news? Every 10 years you live, your life expectancy INCREASES by 2 years. This is because treatments are being found for things that are currently killing people. They may not, in every case cure it, but are finding treatments which render the condition non life threatening. If you don't believe me then look back in time. TB, Cholera, Small Pox killed almost everybody they touched. Seriously silly idea to take it early if you ask me, unless you have been told you will not live till a good age.

jetblack · Post by **jetblack** » 18 Mar 2016, 23:27

heapsy wrote: Every 10 years you live, your life expectancy INCREASES by 2 years.

If true this means I could potentially live forever

.

heapsy wrote:Seriously silly idea to take it early if you ask me, unless you have been told you will not live till a good age.

Depends what value you put on your time.

Me personally, I value my time, and my ability to spend it in a way I see fit, immensely.

I suspect I'm not the only one.

Post by **RobertT** » 19 Mar 2016, 08:54

heapsy wrote:I've been reading the many posts regarding taking your pension early and I just don't get it. WHY would you do it? If you are that obsessed with the possibility you might die early then WHY put money in to a pension in the first place? Statistically retired people run out of money 7 years after retirement. So if you take your pension early it is reasonable to assume that the cash will run out even EARLIER. There is a real danger here that you might actually end up working longer, due to lack of funds. Our great grandparents had to do just that because they didn't have a pension. Secondly, does nobody listen to anything that is being said in the news? Every 10 years you live, your life expectancy INCREASES by 2 years. This is because treatments are being found for things that are currently killing people. They may not, in every case cure it, but are finding treatments which render the condition non life threatening. If you don't believe me then look back in time. TB, Cholera, Small Pox killed almost everybody they touched. Seriously silly idea to take it early if you ask me, unless you have been told you will not live till a good age.

Totally agree heapsy, there are far too many people who seem determined to take their pension at the earliest possible opportunity, whether it’s the correct thing to do or not.
The RMPP is a valuable asset to have, and it’s probably worth a lot more than many people think. So why devalue it by taking it early?

Ultimately the whole point of a pension is that it’s there to replace your wages when you pack up work! I understand the logic of taking your pension early and going part time, and so still being on a similar level of take home pay. But that’s relatively short term thinking. What happens when you want to pack up work completely? In practice many people will end up working for longer than they would have done, albeit perhaps on just a part time basis.

I also understand the reasoning behind having a lower amount, but for longer. But that doesn’t get away from the fact that at some point, you will need to be able to live on that income(plus your state pension). And if you’ve taken it early and been hit by the actuarial reductions, it’s less likely to be enough.

When you’re younger and want or need more money you can do OT or get another job, but the older you are the less you’ll be able to do that. At some point you won’t be able to work at all, therefore it’s important to make sure your income in retirement is going to be enough. So by taking your pension too early you’re potentially putting yourself in the sh*t later on in life, a time when you can’t do as much about it.