Pension Release?

[smithy45]

I have seen several companies advertising in the english free papers, sur in english, Euro Weekly etc claiming that they can release your UK private pension.

This got my attention because I have a UK private pension fund, and I dont know if anyone has been keeping up with current affairs but pension funds are really in big trouble with the financial collapse and forecast to plummet further.

So if the companies I have seen advertising can do what they claim they can do, and release all my pension fund then thats something that I would seriously consider, as I think I would be better off investing the money from my pension myself rather than leaving it where it is and watching it diminish even further, and things are pretty tight at the moment so a little extra cash would not hurt either.

So I am just wondering if anyone has any experience in dealing with any of the companies advertising. Are they for real?

From what I have read, the most it is possible to release from a UK pension is 25% so it all sounds a bit too good to be true perhaps...

[Chica]

Sorry, I know nothing about this but will be interested in any replies you get from someone that does know.

I am sure someone will be along soon to answer your quetion.

Regards

[jojo]

I have no idea I´m afraid, altho I have a motto in life, "If something seems too good to be true, then it usually is"!!

Jo xx

[Chica]

I wonder how much of a chunk they will take out of it

[SteveHall]

Yes, there are several companies offering these schemes. There is no "too good to be true" about it. It is a simple fiscal decision on the part of the client as to whether he/she thinks it is right for him/her. Very much like taking a mortage - in my opinion and for me, "never again" but many other people are totally happy to carry that responsibility. A partner of mine in another business is a director of a financial services company and can advise.

If anybody is interested please PM me.

[Brendanwest]

Yes indeed there are several companies advertising for this now. My wife and I both used the services of one such company based in Alhaurin El Grande a few months ago to cash in both our UK private pension funds.

Without going in to too many details, the process basically involved transferring our UK SIPPS to an offshore SIPP account (as everyone is legally entitled to do). It took 7 weeks for my pension to go through the lengthy legal process, and 9 weeks for my wife's fund.

Once the pension funds are offshore then basically they can be cashed in, and the value of the pension transferred to an offshore account (for tax efficiency purposes).

Obviously it cost a fair bit to set this up. The legal fee's for both my wife and myself's sizeable pensions amounted to over 15% of the value of each of the funds. We have no regrets though as if we had left them where they were however then I have little doubt the value of our pension funds would be worthless within the next year, as from all the forecasts I have seen pension funds are undoubtedly headed towards the proverbial iceberg! We have already reinvested most of the money in to safe investments that we have control over.

Obviously you have to be a bit careful with who you trust your pension fund with, this is Spain afterall. So if smithy45 (or anyone else) want details of the people I used in Alhaurin then feel free to send me a PM.

[smithy45]

Thanks for the info.

I have decided to go ahead with it, so will report back on how this goes for me.

[twoods123]

Hi there,

would be interested to see how you get on with this, sounds great, as normally you can only cash in 25% and not until your 50 soon to be 55

[lakelander]

Originally Posted by Brendanwest

Yes indeed there are several companies advertising for this now. My wife and I both used the services of one such company based in Alhaurin El Grande a few months ago to cash in both our UK private pension funds.

Without going in to too many details, the process basically involved transferring our UK SIPPS to an offshore SIPP account (as everyone is legally entitled to do). It took 7 weeks for my pension to go through the lengthy legal process, and 9 weeks for my wife's fund.

Once the pension funds are offshore then basically they can be cashed in, and the value of the pension transferred to an offshore account (for tax efficiency purposes).

Obviously it cost a fair bit to set this up. The legal fee's for both my wife and myself's sizeable pensions amounted to over 15% of the value of each of the funds. We have no regrets though as if we had left them where they were however then I have little doubt the value of our pension funds would be

worthless within the next year, as from all the forecasts I have seen pension
funds are undoubtedly headed towards the proverbial iceberg! We have already reinvested most of the money in to safe investments that we have control over.

Obviously you have to be a bit careful with who you trust your pension fund with, this is Spain afterall. So if smithy45 (or anyone else) want details of the people I used in Alhaurin then feel free to send me a PM.

Obviously I know nothing about your personal details or the particular scheme.

I know they can be suitable for some people but what I would say is that you should always take independent advice from a Financial Adviser before going ahead with anything.

It depends on your personal circumstances and if you are desperate to release the cash but you should bear in mind also that depending on your age if you take the funds now then they will not be available to you later to provide pension.

If your only purpose was to reinvest the money in safer investments that you have control over then you had that option with a SIPP.

A Self Invested Pension Plan (SIPP) is exactly that. You have total control over where the funds are invested. Most SIPP's have a wide range of funds including cash funds. Any reputable adviser would have been advising you long before now to move the money into less volatile investments such as cash until the current crisis is over.

If anyone needs any advice on this I can put you in contact with a reputable UK IFA who has a representative working in Spain.

[lakelander]

I can't find how to modify my last post. Only spotted my mistake after I posted it. A SIPP is of course a Self Invested Personal Pension