I have been paying in to a company pension scheme for the last three years but now I am moving on and I also have other provisions for my retirement i would like to recover my contributions.

As I have been contributing for longer than two years the admistrators are saying that my only options are to preserve my benefits until i retire (40 years) or transfer to another sheme.


The contributions only come to a few grand but the extra cash would be really helpful in my new venture.

Is there any way I can relase the contributions?

Many thanks,

DC

no

the whole idea of pension schemes are that they are a tax free way of saving for retirement.

If they were that accessable, people would be taking the money out all the time and have bum all for the retirement.

even if you were in the two years, you will get hit with massive charges and wont get much back.


plus as it was paid in tax free , you would cop tax at your highest rate even if you could get your hands on it. You never paid tax on it in the first place....

consider it as money already spent. its gone. its for the future.

you cant save early enough for retirement. I started at 29, and at 45 I still have 3 parts of bum all of substance due to crap stocks performance. Dreams of retiring at 50 look more near 60.

money saved in the early parts of a pension is what acrrues the most interest.

atb

steve



PS - IMPORTANT!!!!

If you are unlucky enogth to pay 40% tax, and make pension contributions, you only get 22% relief at source. YOU have to claim back the other 18% of the relief on your tax return. Anyone thats paying into a pension at 40% MUST claim this cash back, and if you never have, you can go back 6 years.... it can bea lotta cash!



[Edited on 22/10/04 by stephen_gusterson]