Looks like I'm going to be made medically redundant from work if I can't find another job within the company through the redeployment scheme.
I'm 57 & can take my company pension but there's a lot of questions I can't find the answer to online (eg do i need to carry on paying national insurance even though I've got a complete record?)
Have spoken to citizen advice but they refer me to Gov websites which only give an overview of the the basics. Not asking right questions obviously.
Is there a one stop shop for this sort of guidance?
In all honesty, a good place to start is your current employer. They have a duty to help you"out of work"; so make them work to help you... Easier if they have an HR Department.
Or try your local union office... Even without membership they usually have a helpdesk to point you in the right direction.
Taking your company pension should be dooable, unless back in the day you opted out of serps, which many folk did without knowing.
Although the serps thing is quite complicated, and it will be HMRC that advises your company pension fund, if you can take the pension at 57, this tends to be more of an issue for firms that run a final salary pension scheme.
I made an appt with one of the Govt advisors (Pension Wise), it was a good face to face meeting and I got all the advice that I needed at the time, especially regarding the tax issues that you can be hit with for taking out the pension early.
Another Govt contact is "The Pensions Advisory Service" on 0300 123 1047
I am 56 now and starting to plan, although still in full in time employment, with no plans to retire for some time if that is possible.
Getting a better idea of where to go for advice now. Thought pension wise was geared towards folk who are of state pension age, but will be contacting them soon.
Still surreal at the moment. Luckily I'm in the union & my missus is still working.
If it helps I was working on part time basis for the Department of Education when I was over 65. I did not have any NI contributions deducted from my salary.
That was about 14 years ago so things may have changed
I opted out of SERPS and took my company pension when I took early retirement in my mid 50's. There was no problem and I also commuted a small amount of my pension pot. By that time I had made sufficient NI payments for just over the full basic state pension. Now for some reason, I don't fully understand, my main occupational pension rose by around £2k when I reached 65.
However, a couple of points.... If you are retired on medical grounds, does the company provide any additional benefits? Also remember that the first £30k of any redundancy payment is tax free - the rest is taxed at your marginal rate.
------------- Two drifters off to see the world.
I'm tired of reality, so I'm off to look for a good fantasy.
A day of all things motorhome and campervan. The show is held both in the main indoor arena and across the grounds. Catering, hot drinks and food options are available. Easy access to the site and free parking included. Win one of five pairs of day tickets
Topic: Redundancy advice please
