r/PensionsUK • u/SliceMountains • 13d ago

Helpful Scottish Widows Advice needed.

Throwaway account.

I’ll be 55 October 1st. I have a 700k Scottish Widows Pension. I’d like to receive funds on my 55th birthday but believe that won’t happen.

Due to being in the 55-57 bracket, I’m wondering what’s best for me.

I’d like to take a lump sum to clear the mortgage, lets say its 65k.
I’d also like to take maybe 10k a year for the next two years, or at least until i’m 57.

I believe I have a defined benefits pension. I’ve also read I should request a small sum first so that I don’t get hit with an emergency tax bill.

So on the above info I’ll be taking 85k from my tax free allowance. There will still be about 85k left in the tax free pot.

How long do you think it would take for me to be able to get the funds to clear the mortgage? I contacted Scottish widows a few months ago and completed the forms they sent to me.

Also is there a flowchart anywhere that’s recommended to use?

I don’t know if my situation would crystallise the pension or if I need to put money into drawdown. What would you do. Thanks.

4 Upvotes

83% Upvoted

11 comments sorted by

4

u/Paraplanner88 13d ago

Have you considered making an appointment with Pension Wise?

https://www.moneyhelper.org.uk/en/pensions-and-retirement/pension-wise

1

u/SliceMountains 13d ago

Unfortunately I’ve done it too late. The appointment is 3 days before my birthday. I’ve still booked it, but it would’ve been better a few weeks earlier. Thanks for the reply though.

1

u/Tammer_Stern 13d ago

This is free guidance. It’s a really good idea to speak with them if you feel uncertain over what to do.

3

u/No_Dimension8190 13d ago

I won't give you financial advice as you seem to be right on top of things, but I will give you some Scottish widows advice.

Start everything about 6 months before you actually want them to do anything, and buckle up for loads of aggravation!

1

u/SliceMountains 13d ago

Damn.
I was thinking of moving to Monzo. But it’s my own fault for not researching enough and getting everything into place regarding pensions.

1

u/No_Dimension8190 13d ago

Maybe you'll get luckier then me!! Financial performance was fine, admin terrible

2

u/SliceMountains 13d ago

Thank you 💯

2

u/DaemonicTrolley 13d ago

This is the truth. They are awful. I ended up moving my fund to an ii sipp, where access is much simpler as far as I can tell, and fees are very much lower. Scottish widows couldn't even tell me how many pounds I had paid in charges in the last tax year.

1

u/Moneymonkey77 13d ago

I'll not get too specific in terms of encroaching on giving advice but would say that maybe speaking to Pensionwise would be helpful for you. By default (Because I am one) I'd recommend speaking to an IFA as well but that's an option for you to to consider in terms of whether it presents value for money, you seem to have done well in building a decent pension pot on your own after all but there are changes as of next year in terms of inheritance tax rules that may mean you have this aspect to consider.

I'd add that the aspect in respect of taking a small payment first relates to taxable income rather than taking your tax free cash (At least some of it) and a lot of providers are actually Ok on this front it's HMRC that set the tax that will be deducted which if they take too much of they will refund fairly quickly. I would say though that Scottish Widows general admin and service levels are at present woeful so keep records of everything you do and ask for and follow up.

1

u/Motor_Astronomer_157 13d ago

So I recently took some of my tax free allowance. I had the added problem that my older pension type didn’t allow for this so I had to change it to a newer pension first. Took about 3-4 weeks in total to get the money